Based in New York, Prevail develops and commercialises disease-modifying Adeno-associated viruses (AAV) based gene therapies to treat neurodegenerative diseases.
Under the deal, Eli Lilly will acquire Prevail by paying $22.50 per share in cash, or an aggregate of around $880m.
The deal also includes offering of one non-tradable contingent value right (CVR) worth up to $4.00 per share in cash or an aggregate of up to $160m.
The acquisition of Prevail will allow Eli Lilly to establish a new modality for drug discovery and development, thereby helping the company to advance its research capabilities by creating a gene therapy programme with the support of Prevail’s portfolio of clinical-stage and preclinical neuroscience assets.
Prevail is engaged in the development of PR001 to treat patients with Parkinson’s disease with GBA1 mutations (PD-GBA) and neuronopathic Gaucher disease (nGD).
The company is also developing PR006 to treat patients with frontotemporal dementia with GRN mutations.
The preclinical pipeline of the company consists of PR004 for patients with specific synucleinopathies, in addition to potential gene therapies for Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and other neurodegenerative disorders.
Eli Lilly pain and neurodegeneration research vice president Dr Mark Mintun said: “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.”
Subject to customary closing conditions, the deal is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2021.
Lazard is serving as financial advisor and Weil, Gotshal & Manges is acting as legal counsel for Lilly in relation to the transaction.
Centerview Partners is serving as financial advisor and Ropes & Gray is acting as legal counsel for Prevail. Cooley is also acting as legal counsel for Prevail.
In October, Eli Lilly agreed to acquire privately-held biotechnology company Disarm Therapeutics for an upfront payment of $135m.