Pharma BD Deal Intelligence

Eli Lilly and Company / CoLucid Pharmaceuticals

2017 · Acquisition/Merger · $960M · Complete

A $960M all-cash acquisition that gave Lilly the migraine drug lasmiditan, expanding its neuroscience pipeline into acute migraine treatment. The deal closed cleanly, though lasmiditan's commercial performance since launch has been modest against a crowded CGRP-inhibitor field.

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Lilly acquired CoLucid for $960M for migraine therapy lasmiditan.

Key facts

Disease & market context

Migraine (Acute Treatment)

$3.9B US Migraine Market (2017) · ~50% Patients Dissatisfied with Triptans

Disease Overview

Migraine affects ~39M Americans. Lasmiditan was the first drug in the ditan class (5-HT1F agonists), offering a non-vasoconstrictive alternative to triptans for patients with cardiovascular risk.

Post-Deal Outcome

Lasmiditan (Reyvow) was approved in 2019 as the first 5-HT1F agonist. Commercial uptake was limited by CNS side effects and Schedule V designation.

Deal timeline

Related deals — scored

DealYearValueOutcome
Eli Lilly and Company / CoLucid Pharmaceuticals (this deal)2017$960M57
Eli Lilly and Company / Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH2011$444M89
Eli Lilly and Company / Loxo Oncology, Inc.2019$8.0B88
Eli Lilly and Company / Applied Molecular Evolution Inc.2003$400M88
Eli Lilly and Company / ICOS Corporation2006$2.3B87
Eli Lilly and Company / Novartis Animal Health2014$5.4B70
Eli Lilly and Company / Incyte Corporation2009$755M69

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