Pharma BD Deal Intelligence
Eli Lilly agreed on June 20, 2023 to acquire DICE Therapeutics for $48 per share in cash (~$2.4 billion), a ~40% premium, to expand its immunology pipeline; the tender-offer-plus-merger closed August 9, 2023. DICE's DELSCAPE platform develops oral small-molecule alternatives to injectable biologics, led by DC-806, an oral IL-17 inhibitor for psoriasis and other inflammatory diseases. Post-close, the thesis shifted: in a Q3 2024 pipeline cull (disclosed Oct 2024) Lilly dropped DC-806 as its Phase 2 psoriasis program and pivoted to the follow-on candidate DC-853, engineered for higher IL-17A affinity and improved metabolic stability. DC-853 is now Lilly's lead oral IL-17 psoriasis program (Phase 2) and remained in active development as of early 2026, so the deal's value rests on the DELSCAPE oral-IL-17 franchise via DC-853 rather than the original DC-806 asset.