Eli Lilly has found a new acquisition target. The company has already spent $20 billion this year

U.S. pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly has agreed to acquire Merida Biosciences, a developer of drugs for the treatment of autoimmune and allergic diseases. The company is using the windfall from its popular weight-loss and diabetes drugs, Zepbound and Mounjaro, to diversify its portfolio and find new drugs that could become future blockbusters, according to Bloomberg.

Eli Lilly will pay up to $2.875 billion for Merida Biosciences: the deal includes an initial cash payment and additional payments upon the achievement of certain drug development milestones. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026, following receipt of the necessary regulatory approvals.

Merida is developing drugs to treat severe autoimmune and allergic diseases. The company uses a technology that selectively targets and neutralizes disease-causing pathogenic autoantibodies without suppressing the immune system as a whole, according to a statement from Eli Lilly. Pathogenic autoantibodies play a role in the development of a wide range of serious diseases, and Merida’s technology has the potential to be applied far beyond its lead drug candidate, the company said.

The lead drug, Merida MER511, is in Phase I clinical trials. It is intended to treat Graves’ disease (Basedow’s disease—an overproduction of hormones by the thyroid gland) and the associated endocrine ophthalmopathy (a disease affecting the tissues and muscles of the eyeball). The company’s portfolio also includes the preclinical drug MER769 for the treatment of food allergies, asthma, and chronic spontaneous urticaria, as well as even less advanced compounds for the treatment of kidney disease and other immune disorders.

“We are building our portfolio around drugs that can significantly alter the course of a disease, rather than simply addressing its consequences,” said Francisco Ramírez-Valle, Lilly’s senior vice president of immunology research, according to a company statement.

Eli Lilly is on track to set a new record for mergers and acquisitions in 2026: the company has already announced deals totaling more than $20 billion, according to Bloomberg. The pharmaceutical giant is using the windfall from its weight-loss drug Zepbound and diabetes treatment Mounjaro to diversify its development pipeline and reduce its reliance on that business, the agency explained. Lilly is primarily acquiring early-stage drug and biotech companies, hoping to lay the groundwork for future blockbusters—extremely popular drugs—the publication notes.

In April, for example, Eli Lilly agreed to acquire Centessa Pharmaceuticals, a developer of drugs for sleep disorders, for up to $7.8 billion, and Kelonia Therapeutics, a developer of cancer drugs, for $7 billion. In May, the company also announced deals to acquire three developers of vaccines against infectious diseases for up to $3.8 billion.

In July, Lilly agreed to acquire the biotech company AtaiBeckley for $3.8 billion. This will strengthen the pharmaceutical giant’s position in the promising segment of psychedelic drugs for the treatment of depression and other mental disorders, noted Barclays analyst Emily Field. AtaiBeckley holds the rights to a promising drug for treating severe depression, which is in late-stage clinical trials.

Acquiring assets in the early stages is one of the company’s “strengths,” Lilly CEO Dave Ricks said in an interview with CNBC on August 31. Ricks noted that Lilly has already completed more deals than it did in all of 2025.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor