Overview
- A deal announced Tuesday sets a $38-per-share cash price with nontransferable CVRs that could lift the total to $7.8 billion, with closing expected in the third quarter.
- The CVRs pay $2 for U.S. approval in narcolepsy type 2, $5 for idiopathic hypersomnia, and $2 for any indication approved before 2030, all within five years of closing.
- Centessa’s pipeline targets the brain’s orexin OX2R wakefulness switch, led by cleminorexton, which showed positive Phase 2 results in narcolepsy and idiopathic hypersomnia.
- Lilly enters a fast-moving field as Takeda’s rival orexin drug is under FDA review this year, and once-daily dosing for cleminorexton could help patient adherence if approved.
- Centessa shares jumped about 45% after the news, and law firm Ademi LLP opened an inquiry into whether the $38-per-share cash offer gives public holders a fair price.