Eli Lilly Acquires Disarm Therapeutics to Advance Innovative SARM1 Inhibitor for ALS and Multiple Sclerosis

Today, Eli Lilly and Company announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Disarm Therapeutics. Disarm Therapeutics has discovered potent, innovative SARM1 inhibitors, aiming to provide breakthrough treatments for patients with peripheral neuropathy and other neurological disorders, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and multiple sclerosis.

Axonal degeneration is a common yet unresolved pathological phenomenon in a wide range of neurological disorders, capable of causing severe sensory, motor, and cognitive symptoms. Disarm’s scientific founders, Dr. Jeffrey Milbrandt and Dr. Aaron DiAntonio from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, discovered that the SARM1 protein is a core driver of axonal degeneration. Disarm’s SARM1 inhibitor is designed to directly prevent axon loss.

▲SARM1 plays a key role in axonal degeneration (Image source: Disarm Therapeutics official website)

Under the terms of the agreement, Eli Lilly paid an upfront payment of $135 million. If Eli Lilly successfully develops and commercializes new drugs resulting from the acquisition, Disarm Therapeutics’ shareholders may be eligible for additional milestone payments of up to $1.225 billion.

References:

[1] Orca Bio Receives Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy (RMAT) Designation for Orca-T. Retrieved October 14, 2020, from https://orcabio.com/2020-10-14/

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