Jan 7 (Reuters) – Eli Lilly will buy autoimmune drug developer Ventyx Biosciences for $1.2 billion in cash, the companies said on Wednesday, marking the Zepbound maker’s latest push to expand beyond its blockbuster diabetes and weight-loss drugs.
Lilly will acquire all of the outstanding shares of Ventyx for $14 per share, representing a premium of around 2% over the stock’s close on Wednesday.
Ventyx is developing several treatments, including oral therapies for inflammatory bowel diseases such as Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis, besides drugs for immunity-related, cardiometabolic, and neurodegenerative disorders.
One of its drugs in a mid-stage trial is targeting a cardiovascular condition linked to obesity, potentially complementing Lilly’s metabolic and immunology franchises.
This is Lilly’s first major transaction of 2026, following a year when its market value topped $1 trillion on surging sales of GLP-1 drugs Mounjaro and Zepbound.
The diabetes and obesity drugs have delivered annual revenues that have eclipsed traditional blockbusters and cemented Lilly’s position as the world’s most valuable drugmaker.
(Reporting by Mrinalika Roy and Puyaan Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Leroy Leo, Tasim Zahid and Shilpi Majumdar)
