Eli Lilly enters $1 billion agreement to acquire Prevail Therapeutics
Eli Lilly & Co and Prevail Therapeutics announced a definitive agreement for Lilly to acquire Prevail for a total consideration of approximately $1.040 billion.
Under the agreement, Lilly will pay $22.50 per share in cash (or an aggregate of approximately $880 million) at closing plus one non-tradable contingent value right (“CVR”) worth up to $4.00 per share in cash (or an aggregate of approximately $160 million), for a total purchase sum of up to $26.50 per share in cash (or an aggregate of approximately $1.040 billion). The CVR, subject to certain T&C’s, is payable upon the first regulatory approval of a product from Prevail’s pipeline.
Lilly to create gene therapy program for neurodegenerative diseases
Prevail Therapeutics is a biotech company developing potentially disease-modifying AAV9-based gene therapies for patients with neurodegenerative diseases. The acquisition will establish a gene therapy program at Lilly, anchored by Prevail’s portfolio of clinical-stage and preclinical neuroscience assets, and is set to strengthen Lilly’s commitment to use novel modalities to address otherwise fatal genetic forms of neurodegenerative disease.
Prevail’s lead gene therapies in clinical development are PR001 for patients with Parkinson’s disease with GBA1 mutations (PD-GBA) and neuronopathic Gaucher disease (nGD) and PR006 for patients with frontotemporal dementia with GRN mutations (FTD-GRN). Prevail’s preclinical pipeline includes PR004 for patients with specific synucleinopathies, as well as potential gene therapies for Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and other neurodegenerative disorders.
Mark Mintun, M.D., vice president of pain and neurodegeneration research at Lilly stated:
“Gene therapy is a promising approach with the potential to deliver transformative treatments for patients with neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s, Gaucher and dementia. The acquisition of Prevail will bring critical technology and highly skilled teams to complement our existing expertise at Lilly, as we build a new gene therapy program anchored by well-researched assets. We look forward to completing the proposed acquisition and working with Prevail to advance their groundbreaking work through clinical development.”
Asa Abeliovich, M.D., Ph.D., founder and chief executive officer of Prevail said:
“Lilly is an established leader in neuroscience drug development and commercialization who shares our commitment to patients with neurodegenerative diseases, and I’m excited for Prevail to join the Lilly family. I’m incredibly proud of the Prevail team, who have made great progress advancing our pipeline of gene therapy programs for patients with these devastating disorders. In just over three years, Prevail has advanced two first-in-class gene therapy programs into clinical development for PD-GBA, nGD, and FTD-GRN, established two manufacturing platforms, and developed a broad pipeline with great potential to impact patients in need of disease-modifying treatment options. With its global scale and resources, Lilly will be the ideal organization to maximize the potential of our pipeline and accelerate our ability to bring these therapies to as many patients as possible. We look forward to working together to advance our shared mission.”
Terms of the acquisition agreement
Under the terms of the agreement, Eli Lilly will make a tender offer to buy all outstanding shares of Prevail Therapeutics Inc. for a cash price of $22.50 per share (or an aggregate of approximately $880 million) payable at closing plus one non-tradeable CVR. The CVR entitles Prevail stockholders to purchase up to an additional $4.00 per share in cash (or an aggregate of approximately $160 million) payable (subject to certain terms and conditions) upon the first regulatory approval for commercial sale of a Prevail product in one of the following countries: United States, Japan, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy or Spain. To achieve the full value of the CVR, such regulatory approval must occur by the deadline of December 31, 2024. If such regulatory approval occurs after December 31, 2024, the value of the CVR will be reduced by approximately 8.3 cents per month until December 1, 2028 (at which point the CVR will expire).
There can be no assurance any payments will be made with respect to the CVR. The transaction is not subject to any financing condition and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2021, subject to customary closing conditions, including receipt of required regulatory approvals and the tender of a majority of the outstanding shares of Prevail’s common stock. Following the successful closing of the tender offer, Lilly will purchase any shares of Prevail that are not tendered in the tender offer through a second-step merger at the same consideration as paid in the tender offer.
The purchase price payable at closing represents a premium of approximately 117% to the 60-day volume-weighted average trading price of Prevail’s common stock ended on December 14, 2020, the last trading day before the announcement of the transaction. Prevail’s Board of Directors unanimously recommends that Prevail’s stockholders tender their shares in the tender offer. Additionally, certain Prevail stockholders, beneficially owning approximately 51% of Prevail’s outstanding common stock, have (subject to certain terms and conditions) agreed to tender their shares in the tender offer.
Upon closing, the impact of this transaction will be reflected in Lilly’s 2021 financial results according to Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). There will be no change required to Lilly’s 2021 financial guidance being issued today for research and development expense or non-GAAP earnings per share as a result of this transaction.
Lazard is acting as sole financial advisor for Eli Lilly and Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP is acting as legal counsel. For Prevail, Centerview Partners LLC is acting as sole financial advisor, Ropes & Gray LLP is acting as legal counsel, and Cooley LLP also provided legal counsel.
Prevail Therapeutics Pipeline
PR001 is being developed as a potentially disease-modifying, single-dose AAV9-based gene therapy for patients with Parkinson’s disease with GBA1 mutations (PD-GBA) and neuronopathic Gaucher disease (nGD), delivered by intra-cisterna magna injection. The PROPEL trial, a Phase 1/2 clinical trial of PR001 for the treatment of PD-GBA patients, is ongoing. The PROVIDE trial, which is currently recruiting participants, is a Phase 1/2 clinical trial of PR001 for the treatment of Type 2 Gaucher disease patients. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Fast Track Designation for PR001 for the treatment of PD-GBA and for the treatment of nGD. It has also granted Orphan Drug Designation for PR001 for the treatment of Gaucher disease, and Rare Pediatric Disease Designation for the treatment of nGD.
PR006 is being developed as a potentially disease-modifying, single-dose AAV9-based gene therapy for patients with frontotemporal dementia with GRN mutations (FTD-GRN), also delivered by intra-cisterna magna injection. The PROCLAIM trial, a Phase 1/2 clinical trial of PR006 for the treatment of FTD-GRN patients, is currently ongoing and the first patient was dosed in December 2020. The FDA and the European Commission have granted orphan designation for PR006 for the treatment of FTD, and the FDA has granted Fast Track Designation for PR006 for FTD-GRN.
PR004 is a gene therapy in preclinical development for patients with certain synucleinopathies. PR004 utilizes an AAV9 vector to deliver the GBA1 gene, which encodes glucocerebrosidase (GCase), and a molecule that suppresses expression of α-Synuclein.
Prevail Therapeutics is also developing a broad pipeline of additional AAV gene therapies for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, ALS, Parkinson’s disease, and other neurodegenerative disorders. Preclinical development of these potential therapies is currently ongoing.
About Prevail Therapeutics
Headquartered in New York, Prevail Therapeutics is a biotech gene therapy firm leveraging breakthroughs in human genetics with the goal of developing and commercializing disease-modifying AAV-based gene therapies for patients with neurodegenerative diseases. The company was founded by Dr. Asa Abeliovich in 2017, through a collaborative effort with The Silverstein Foundation for Parkinson’s with GBA, and OrbiMed.
About Eli Lilly and Company
Lilly is a global healthcare leader that unites caring with discovery to create therapeutics that improve life for people around the world. Founded more than a century ago by a man committed to creating high-quality medicines that meet real needs, Lilly strives to remain true to that mission in all its work. Across the globe, Lilly employees work to discover and bring life-changing medicines to those who need them, improve the understanding and management of disease, and give back to communities through philanthropy and volunteerism. To learn more about Lilly, please visit us at www.lilly.com.
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