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Eli Lilly's up-to-$1.5B buy of Curevo Vaccine nets a Phase 2-proven shingles vaccine, amezosvatein, that matched Shingrix on immune response while cutting fatigue, chills and injection-site pain by more than half — one leg of a same-day, three-deal vaccine push beyond GLP-1s.
Outcome grade pending — assessed 5 years post-close.
Full analysis, sources & comparables →Lilly dives into vaccine research with 3 biotech buyouts. The pharma giant announced agreements to acquire Curevo, LimmaTech and Vaccine Company in…
Eli Lilly inks deals to buy 3 vaccine developers for up to $3.8B as M&A spree continues. The Indianapolis-based pharma is acquiring Curevo for up to $1.5B for…
Eli Lilly to buy three small vaccine developers in a roughly $3.8 billion bet on infectious disease vaccines. The deals span shingles, S. aureus and…
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Eli Lilly agreed to acquire Seattle-area Curevo Vaccine for up to $1.5B (upfront plus single specified milestone). Curevo's lead candidate amezosvatein is an adjuvanted subunit shingles vaccine with Phase 2 data showing immune response matching standard-of-care Shingrix and >50% reductions in fatigue, chills and injection-site pain. Part of Lilly's three-deal vaccine push into infectious disease announced same day.
1M US cases/yr · $1.4B 2025 US shingles vaccine market, IMARC Group (Shingrix-dominant)
Herpes zoster results from reactivation of latent varicella zoster virus, causing painful dermatomal rash and frequently post-herpetic neuralgia. An estimated 1 million US cases occur annually with lifetime risk approaching 1 in 3. Standard-of-care Shingrix is highly efficacious (>90%) but reactogenicity from the AS01B adjuvant causes activity-limiting fatigue, chills and injection-site pain in approximately one-third of recipients, suppressing series completion and revaccination uptake.
GSK's Shingrix dominates with ~94% of 2024 global shingles vaccine revenue ($4.2B). Direct competitive threats are limited: Merck's Zostavax was withdrawn in 2020, and no late-stage Phase 3 alternatives are currently on market. Curevo's positioning is a tolerability-improved second-generation subunit shingles vaccine; success in Phase 3 would target the ~35-40% of eligible adults who decline Shingrix series completion citing reactogenicity. Lilly inherits Phase 3 readiness with capital and commercial scale.
| Deal | Year | Value | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eli Lilly and Company / Curevo Vaccine, Inc. (this deal) | 2026 | $1.5B | — |
| Eli Lilly and Company / Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH | 2011 | $444M | 89 |
| Eli Lilly and Company / Loxo Oncology, Inc. | 2019 | $8.0B | 88 |
| Eli Lilly and Company / Applied Molecular Evolution Inc. | 2003 | $400M | 88 |
| Eli Lilly and Company / ICOS Corporation | 2006 | $2.3B | 87 |
| Eli Lilly and Company / Novartis Animal Health | 2014 | $5.4B | 70 |
| Eli Lilly and Company / Incyte Corporation | 2009 | $755M | 69 |
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