Lilly to acquire Merida Biosciences for antibody‑degrading immunology platform

Deal terms

Lilly will acquire Merida Biosciences for up to $2.875 billion in cash, inclusive of an upfront payment and contingent milestone payments. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals, and is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026. Lilly will determine the GAAP accounting treatment upon closing and will reflect the transaction in its financial results and guidance. Ropes & Gray LLP is legal counsel to Lilly; Centerview Partners LLC is Lilly’s exclusive financial advisor; Goodwin Procter LLP is legal counsel to Merida.

Technology and strategic rationale

Merida has engineered biologics designed to selectively and durably degrade pathogenic autoantibodies while preserving normal immune function. The company positions this precision degradation approach to target the biological cause of antibody‑driven diseases rather than broadly suppressing the immune system, with potential application across a range of autoimmune, allergic and other antibody‑mediated conditions.

Clinical progress

The lead program, MER511, is in Phase 1 for Graves’ disease and thyroid eye disease (TED). Initial Phase 1 data reported robust reductions in pathogenic thyroid‑stimulating antibodies and a favorable initial safety profile. The release notes that Graves’ disease affects roughly 3 million people in the U.S., and about 25–40% of those patients develop TED; existing approved treatments do not directly target the causative autoantibodies.

Pipeline breadth

Beyond MER511, Merida’s pipeline includes MER769, a preclinical program aimed at food allergy, asthma, chronic spontaneous urticaria and other IgE‑driven diseases, as well as earlier‑stage programs in kidney diseases such as membranous nephropathy and other immune‑mediated conditions.