Eli Lilly and Company has agreed to acquire Merida Biosciences for up to $2.875 billion in cash, adding a precision immunology platform designed to selectively eliminate disease-causing antibodies across autoimmune and allergic conditions.
The total consideration includes an upfront payment and additional contingent milestone payments.
The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.
Merida is developing biologics engineered to selectively degrade pathogenic autoantibodies while preserving normal immune function.
The company is positioning that approach as an alternative to therapies that broadly suppress immune activity, with the goal of addressing the biological drivers of certain autoimmune and allergic diseases more directly.
Merida’s lead program, MER511, is currently in Phase 1 development for Graves’ disease and thyroid eye disease.
Both conditions are driven by thyroid-stimulating immunoglobulins, autoantibodies that activate the thyroid-stimulating hormone receptor.
Graves’ disease affects approximately 3 million people in the U.S., while roughly 25% to 40% of patients with Graves’ disease go on to develop thyroid eye disease.
Thyroid eye disease can cause pain and disfigurement and, in severe cases, vision loss.
Lilly said existing approved treatments for Graves’ disease and thyroid eye disease do not directly target the autoantibodies responsible for driving the conditions.
Initial Phase 1 data for MER511 have shown robust reductions in pathogenic thyroid-stimulating antibodies with what the companies described as a favorable initial safety profile.
Those findings remain early-stage clinical results, but they provide the foundation for Lilly’s interest in advancing the program.
The acquisition also gives Lilly access to a broader antibody degradation platform that could be applied beyond Graves’ disease and thyroid eye disease.
Merida’s pipeline includes MER769, a preclinical program targeting diseases driven by the antibody responsible for allergic reactions.
Potential indications for MER769 include food allergy, asthma and chronic spontaneous urticaria.
Merida is also pursuing earlier-stage programs involving kidney diseases such as membranous nephropathy and other immune-mediated conditions.
For Lilly, the transaction expands an immunology strategy centered on therapies that can potentially modify the underlying course of disease rather than primarily addressing downstream symptoms or inflammatory effects.
The company sees Merida’s platform as potentially applicable across multiple antibody-driven conditions with substantial unmet medical need.
Merida was founded around the concept of directly targeting disease-causing antibodies.
CEO Adam Townsend credited Chief Scientific Officer and founder Dario Gutierrez with advancing the underlying scientific approach from concept into early clinical development.
Lilly plans to continue developing the technology with Merida’s team following the acquisition.
The deal also underscores the strategic value large pharmaceutical companies are placing on platform technologies capable of generating multiple drug candidates from a common biological approach.
If Merida’s degradation technology can be successfully extended beyond its lead indication, Lilly could gain a pipeline of potential therapies spanning autoimmune, allergic and kidney diseases.
Ropes & Gray is serving as legal counsel to Lilly.
Centerview Partners is acting as exclusive financial advisor to Merida, while Goodwin Procter is serving as Merida’s legal counsel.
KEY QUOTES:
“We’re building our pipeline around therapies that meaningfully change the course of disease, not just its downstream effects. Merida’s lead program is designed to do exactly that: selectively and directly eliminating the autoantibodies causing Graves’ disease and thyroid eye disease, while preserving normal immune function, with initial Phase 1 data already pointing to the potential for improved efficacy and safety.”
“We see potential to apply this precision approach across a broad range of antibody-driven diseases, and we look forward to advancing this novel technology working with the Merida team.”
Francisco Ramírez-Valle, M.D., Ph.D., Senior Vice President Of Lilly Immunology Research And Early Clinical Development
“Merida was founded to fundamentally change how autoimmune and allergic diseases are treated, by targeting the antibodies driving them directly, rather than suppressing the immune system broadly. Under our CSO and founder Dario Gutierrez’s scientific leadership, our team has advanced that idea from concept to clinical data, and what we’ve seen so far reinforces our conviction that this approach can make a meaningful difference for patients.”
“Today’s announcement reflects the hard work of the entire Merida team, and joining Lilly gives our science the resources and commitment to realize its potential for patients with immune-mediated conditions.”
Adam Townsend, Chief Executive Officer Of Merida Biosciences
