Eli Lilly agreed to acquire Vaccine Company, Inc. for up to $1.55B (upfront plus milestones). Vaccine Company develops proprietary In Vivo Nanoparticle (IVN) technology that mimics virus-like-particle immunogenicity without traditional VLP manufacturing burden; lead Phase-1-ready candidate is a five-antigen Epstein-Barr Virus vaccine, with broader pipeline across viral pathogens. Part of Lilly's three-deal infectious disease push announced May 26.
Key facts
AnnouncedMay 26, 2026
Deal value$1.6B
Deal typeAcquisition/Merger
Therapeutic areaEpstein-Barr Virus prevention (with downstream applications in EBV-driven malignancies and multiple sclerosis)
IndicationsEpstein-Barr Virus prevention (with downstream applications in EBV-driven malignancies and multiple sclerosis)
Key assetsEBV-IVN (five-antigen Epstein-Barr Virus vaccine on In Vivo Nanoparticle platform, Phase 1-ready)
MechanismIn Vivo Nanoparticle (IVN) self-assembling vaccine platform displaying multiple viral antigens to mimic VLP immunogenicity