Lilly Announces $8B Acquisition

Lilly last month detailed plans to invest $850 million into its U.S. operations this year.

Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly and Co. (NYSE: LLY) has announced an $8 billion deal to acquire Loxo Oncology in Connecticut. Lilly says the deal adds precision medicines to its oncology portfolio through Loxo’s pipeline of medicines for patients with certain types of cancers.

The Indy drugmaker says the acquisition would be the largest in its ongoing effort to strengthen its cancer treatment portfolio. Loxo’s pipeline is focused on cancers that involve single gene abnormalities that can be detected by genomic testing. The company says targeted medicines, like those in Loxo’s portfolio, can often treat those cancers with "dramatic effect."

Loxo’s investigational medicines include LOXO-292, which has been granted Breakthrough Therapy designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The company says the treatment, which targets certain lung and thyroid cancers, among others, could launch in 2020.

Lilly Oncology President Anne White says the acquisition represents an "exciting and immediate" opportunity to expand Lilly’s portfolio, adding the Indy company is looking forward to advancing the "pioneering scientific innovation begun by Loxo Oncology."