Eli Lilly will acquire Prevail Therapeutics, a New York City-based drugmaker that focuses on drugs for neurodegenerative diseases, for up to $1 billion.
Under the deal, Eli Lilly will pay roughly $880 million to acquire Prevail, and will pay another $160 million if one of Prevail's drugs is FDA-approved by the end of 2024.
Eli Lilly said the acquisition will help it create a gene therapy program, which will be anchored by Prevail's portfolio of clinical stage and preclinical neurodegenerative disease drugs. The drugs it has in development are designed to treat diseases including Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.
"Gene therapy is a promising approach with the potential to deliver transformative treatments for patients with neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's, Gaucher and dementia," said Mark Mintun, MD, vice president of pain and neurodegeneration research at Eli Lilly.
The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2021.
Read the full news release here.