Eli Lilly has agreed to acquire Curevo Vaccine in a deal centered on a next-generation shingles vaccine aimed at improving tolerability and boosting vaccination rates among older adults.
The deal includes up to $1.5 billion in cash for the Bothell, Wash.-based biotech, consisting of an upfront payment and a contingent milestone payment.
At the center of the acquisition is amezosvatein, Curevo’s Phase 3-ready vaccine targeting the virus that causes shingles. The candidate is designed to compete with current leading vaccines, which are highly effective but can produce side effects that discourage some patients from completing vaccination.
Shingles affects roughly one in three adults in the U.S. over a lifetime and can lead to serious complications such as chronic nerve pain. While current vaccines are widely used, tolerability has been cited as a barrier to broader uptake.
The deal is one of three acquisitions that Eli Lilly announced this week to boost the Indianapolis-based pharmaceutical giant’s infectious disease program. Curevo competes against biotech giant GlaxoSmithKline, which sells Shingrix, a shingles vaccine approved in 2017.
Curevo was established in 2018 as a partnership between GC Pharma, Seoul’s Mogam Institute for Biomedical Research, and Seattle’s Access to Advanced Health Institute.
The company raised $110 million in venture funding last year from Medicxi; OrbiMed; HBM Healthcare Investments; Sanofi Ventures; RA Capital Management; Janus Henderson Investors; Adjuvant Capital; and founding investor GC Biopharma.
In a Phase 2 head-to-head study, Curevo said its lead vaccine candidate reduces reported side effects (including fatigue, chills and injection-site pain) by more than half.
The companies also pointed to emerging research linking shingles infection to increased stroke risk, and shingles vaccination to potential reductions in dementia risk, underscoring the broader public health implications.
“There is a growing body of evidence linking protection from shingles to lowered risk of stroke and dementia,” said Daniel Skovronsky, Lilly’s chief scientific and product officer. “A vaccine that is meaningfully better tolerated could extend the reach of shingles prevention.”
Lilly’s global scale is expected to accelerate development of Curevo’s vaccine program, with amezosvatein expected to advance into late-stage development.
“Curevo is focused on improving the shingles immunization experience so more adults can benefit from protection against shingles, a serious disease with significant risk for long-term impairment of healthy living,” Curevo CEO George Simeon said in a press release.
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