Overview
- Eli Lilly and Centessa struck an agreement Tuesday for a $38-per-share cash buyout worth about $6.3 billion, with up to $1.5 billion more tied to future FDA approvals through contingent value rights, and they target a third-quarter close pending approvals.
- Lilly is acquiring Centessa’s orexin receptor 2 medicines for conditions like narcolepsy and idiopathic hypersomnia, aiming to improve daytime wakefulness for patients who struggle to stay alert.
- Centessa’s lead pill, cleminorexton (ORX750), has Phase 2 results and is moving toward pivotal trials, while a second program, ORX142, completed Phase 1 in healthy volunteers and is set to start patient studies.
- Competition is intense as Takeda’s orexin drug is already under FDA review and could launch first, and analysts note Centessa’s once-daily dosing could help it compete with twice-daily options.
- Centessa’s shares jumped about 45% after the news and Lilly rose modestly, as investors backed Lilly’s plan to use GLP-1 cash flows to build a broader neuroscience portfolio with large market potential.