Eli Lilly and Company announced agreements to acquire Curevo Inc., LimmaTech Biologics AG and Vaccine Company, Inc., expanding its research and development efforts in infectious disease and prevention-focused medicine. The deals are intended to strengthen Lilly’s portfolio against viral pathogens linked to long-term neurological and oncologic risks, as well as bacterial pathogens that are increasingly difficult to prevent or treat.
For Curevo, Lilly will acquire the company in a transaction under which Curevo shareholders could receive up to $1.5 billion in cash, including an upfront payment and an additional milestone-based payment. Curevo’s lead candidate, amezosvatein, is an adjuvanted subunit shingles vaccine engineered with a next-generation synthetic adjuvant to improve tolerability. In a Phase 2 head‑to‑head trial against the current standard of care, amezosvatein matched immune responses across all primary endpoints and reduced side effects such as activity‑limiting fatigue, chills and injection-site pain by more than half. Lilly noted that better tolerated shingles prevention could increase vaccination uptake and potentially lower long‑term risks such as stroke and dementia that have been associated with shingles.
Lilly will acquire LimmaTech Biologics for up to $780 million in cash, including an upfront payment and potential clinical and regulatory milestone payments. LimmaTech is developing vaccines targeting bacterial pathogens where rising antimicrobial resistance is narrowing treatment options, including Staphylococcus aureus, Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Chlamydia trachomatis. Its platform seeks to induce broad, durable immunity by targeting toxins and superantigens that drive disease. Lead candidate LTB‑SA7 is in Phase 1 development as a vaccine against S. aureus, a leading cause of surgical-site infections, and the preclinical pipeline includes programs aimed at pathogens that cause infertility and other long-term complications that disproportionately affect women.
In a third deal, Lilly will acquire Vaccine Company in a transaction in which its shareholders could receive up to $1.55 billion in cash, including an upfront payment and milestone-based clinical and commercial payments. Vaccine Company is advancing In Vivo Nanoparticle (IVN) technologies intended to mimic the antigen display of virus‑like particle vaccines while avoiding the manufacturing complexity of traditional VLPs. Its lead program, a Phase 1–ready five‑antigen candidate, targets Epstein‑Barr virus (EBV). Lilly highlighted growing evidence that EBV is linked not only to acute infectious mononucleosis but also to multiple sclerosis and several cancers, suggesting a prophylactic vaccine could address both acute infection and long‑term neurological and oncologic consequences.
“These acquisitions reflect a deliberate strategy to prevent disease at its source rather than treat its consequences,” said Daniel M. Skovronsky, M.D., Ph.D., chief scientific and product officer and president of Lilly Research Laboratories. He noted decades of data connecting common infections to conditions that may emerge years later, including neurological disease, cancer and infertility, and emphasized that as antimicrobial resistance grows, vaccines become an increasingly important tool to prevent bacterial infections.
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