Pharmaceutical firm Eli Lilly is acquiring one of its portfolio companies, US-based metabolic disease therapeutics developer Protomer Technologies, potentially for more than $1bn, it revealed yesterday.
Founded in 2015, Protomer is working on injectable protein therapies that help identify and trigger molecular activators in the body to treat metabolic disorders including diabetes. The purchase price will depend on whether it meets unspecified development and commercialisation milestones.
Lilly owns a 14% stake in the company, having led a funding round at an unspecified date that was disclosed in November 2020 alongside an investment of similarly undisclosed size from philanthropy-oriented venture capital vehicle JDRF T1D Fund.
Ruth Gimeno, vice-president of diabetes research and clinical investigation at Lilly, said: “Glucose-sensing insulin is the next frontier and has the potential to revolutionise the treatment and quality of life of people with diabetes by dramatically improving both therapeutic efficacy and safety of insulin therapy.
“Protomer’s glucose-sensing insulin programme, based on its proprietary molecular engineering of protein sensors platform, is showing significant promise and Lilly is excited to enhance our diabetes pipeline with the company’s innovative technology.”
Alborz Mahdavi, Protomer’s founder and CEO, added: “We are excited to join Lilly, a leader in diabetes therapies, and advance our science with their support to better serve the needs of patients. This transaction validates our team’s accomplishments, and we look forward to continuing our important work together with Lilly.
“The Protomer team is excited to embark on the next chapter of our work at Lilly as we focus our efforts on advancing glucose-responsive insulins and accelerating the development of these next-generation protein therapeutics.”
