Lilly to Acquire Merida Biosciences for $2.875B

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Eli Lilly and Company announced an agreement to acquire Merida Biosciences, in a deal worth up to $2.875 billion.

Merida Mission and Current Pipeline

Merida, which launched in April 2025, is a biotechnology company that develops precision biologics that selectively degrade pathogenic autoantibodies. Those are the disease-causing agents that spur a variety of immune-mediated conditions.

Currently, Merida’s lead program, MER511, is in Phase I development for Graves’ disease and thyroid eye disease, or TED. Both conditions stem from thyroid-stimulating immunoglobulins—autoantibodies that spur the thyroid-stimulating hormone receptor.

Why New Treatments Needed

Approved treatments for both Graves’ disease and TED exist, but none directly target autoantibodies. Conversely, Merida’s precision degradation approach intends to address biological causes of disease, rather than simply broadly suppressing the immune system.

Francisco Ramírez-Valle, MD, PhD, senior vice president, Lilly immunology research and early clinical development, commented on the pending acquisition.

“We’re building our pipeline around therapies that meaningfully change the course of disease, not just its downstream effects,” Ramírez-Valle said. “[MER511] is designed to do exactly that: selectively and directly eliminating the autoantibodies causing Graves’ disease and thyroid eye disease.”

“Merida was founded to fundamentally change how autoimmune and allergic diseases are treated,” Merida CEO Adam Townsend said. “Our team has advanced that idea from concept to clinical data. What we’ve seen so far reinforces our conviction that this approach can make a meaningful difference for patients. [This] announcement reflects the hard work of the entire Merida team. Joining Lilly gives our science the resources and commitment to realize its potential for patients with immune-mediated conditions.”

What Else Lilly Will Acquire

Merida’s pipeline additionally includes MER769, which targets food allergy, asthma, and chronic spontaneous urticaria, among other diseases.