Eli Lilly to acquire Dermira, Boehringer buys Enleofen’s IL-11 platform, Biogen acquires Pfizer’s Alzheimer’s drug

Eli Lilly has announced to buy a biopharmaceutical company, Dermira, for a whopping sum of USD 1.1 Billion in an all-cash transaction.

Through the acquisition, Eli Lilly is planning to expand its immunology pipeline by adding lebrikizumab, which is a novel, investigational, monoclonal antibody. The drug is designed to bind IL-13 with high affinity and is under Phase 3 clinical development trial for the treatment of moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis in adolescent and adult patients, ages 12 years and older. The USFDA had already given the drug Fast Track designation last month.

So far, the only approved therapy that targets the IL-4/13 pathway is Dupilumab, a joint product of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and Sanofi.

In addition to lebrikizumab, Lilly will also get its hands on QBREXZA (glycopyrronium), an FDA-approved medicated cloth as a topical therapy for primary axillary hyperhidrosis. 

Many other companies like Eli Lilly are developing therapies to advance derma market and address unmet needs.

Boehringer Ingelheim has announced the acquisition of Enleofen Bio’s interleukin-11 (IL-11) platform to fuel the fibro-inflammatory disease treatment market.

Inteleukin-11 (IL-11) is a cytokine that uses the cells of the body to communicate within the other parts and has been held responsible for causing diseases of liver, kidneys, lungs and as severe as cancer.  Inhibiting the overexpression of IL-11 is associated with the prevention of fibrosis, inflammation and helps in restoring the organ function. 

Enleofen’s preclinical interleukin-11 (IL-11) platform has expertise in developing first-in-class therapies across a spectrum of fibro-inflammatory disorders. 

The agreement will help Boehringer to gain exclusive rights to the platform, thus adding concrete to the existing strong therapeutic pipeline. 

Under the terms, Enleofen would be eligible to receive around 1 Billion USD per product in upfront and upon achieving developmental and commercial milestones.

Biogen, in a recent move to build its Alzheimer’s pipeline strong, has acquired Pfizer’s experimental drug for USD 75 Million in an upfront deal.

The drug candidate PF-05251749, a CK1 inhibitor has the potential to treat sundowning in Alzheimer’s and irregular sleep-wake rhythm disorder (ISWRD) in Parkinson’s disease. The ability of the drug to cross the blood-brain barrier and regulate circadian rhythms helps in improving behavioural and neurological symptoms in Alzheimer’s patients. 

Moreover, the agreement also enables Pfizer to receive an amount of USD 635 Million in milestone payments. 

A few months back, the decision of Biogen to resurrect its drug Aducanumab shocked many. But it seems, the company is hell-bent in bringing its drug in the market. The recent acquisition reinforces the gamble Biogen has played to find a cure for Alzheimer’s.