Eli Lilly has acquired the biotech company Protomer in a potential deal worth more than $1 billion.
Earlier, Eli Lilly made a stock investment in Protomer Technologies along with JDRF T1D Fund, where it acquired a 14% stake in the biotech company protomer.
Founded in 2015, Protomer is a US-based company that produces advanced protein therapies that can be automatically activated in the body by molecular activators based on the required action that allows dose-ranging and making therapy more targeted.
The company’s protein-engineering platform (MEPS) can be leveraged to discover and synthesize glucose-responsive insulin to make insulin act in case of rising glucose levels.
This platform helps create protein therapies with an activity that can be regulated using small molecules. The goal is to achieve variable doses and targeted delivery.
In addition, the chemical biology-based platform facilitates rapid on and off auto-regulation of activity.
“Glucose-responsive insulin is the next frontier and has the potential to revolutionize the treatment and quality of life of people with diabetes by dramatically improving the therapeutic efficacy and safety of insulin therapy,” said Ruth Jimeno, Vice President of Diabetes Research and Clinical Investigations, Eli Lilly.
She continued, “Protomer’s glucose-responsive insulin program, based on the molecular engineering of the Protein Sensor Platform (MEPS), shows great promise, and Eli Lilly is excited to enhance our diabetes pipeline with the company’s innovative technology.”
The acquisition follows Eli Lilly’s three-year partnership with Verge Genomics to research and develops new drugs for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
