Eli Lilly has agreed to buy Disarm Therapeutics, a US-based neurological disease drug developer based on Washinton University in St Louis (WUSTL) research, for an upfront fee of $135m.
Disarm is working on treatments for neurological disorders such as multiple sclerosis or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) that are intended to work by inhibiting the SARM1 protein, thought to be a prime driver of axonal degeneration in the early stages of such diseases.
The company was founded by venture capital firm Atlas Venture with Jeffrey Milbrandt and Aaron DiAntonio of WUSTL’s School of Medicine.
The transaction could potentially grow to more than $1.22bn taking into account future payments covering development, regulatory and commercial milestones resulting from Eli Lilly successfully developing or commercialising drugs based on the acquisition.
Atlas Venture led Disarm’s only disclosed funding round, a $30m series A in 2017 that included pharmaceutical firm AbbVie’s strategic investment arm, AbbVie Ventures, as well as VC firm Lightstone Ventures.
Alvin Shih, chief executive of Disarm, said: “Disarm’s innovative approach to treating axonal degeneration holds tremendous promise for addressing a wide spectrum of neurological diseases, and we have made significant strides toward enabling potentially transformative therapies.
“Lilly is ideally suited to advance this exciting new approach to treating axonal degeneration, and we look forward to seeing patients benefit from the work that Disarm initiated.”
– A version of this article first appeared on our sister site, Global Corporate Venturing.

Eli Lilly has agreed to buy US-based neurological disease drug developer Disarm Therapeutics for an upfront fee of $135m in a deal that will allow fellow pharmaceutical firm AbbVie to exit.

Disarm is working on treatments for neurological disorders such as multiple sclerosis or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) that are intended to work by inhibiting the SARM1 protein, thought to be a prime driver of axonal degeneration in the early stages of such diseases.

The company was founded by venture capital firm Atlas Venture with Jeffrey Milbrandt and Aaron DiAntonio of Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis.

The transaction could potentially grow to more than $1.22bn taking into account future payments covering development, regulatory and commercial milestones resulting from Eli Lilly successfully developing or commercialising drugs based on the acquisition.

Atlas Venture led Disarm’s only disclosed funding round, a $30m series A in 2017 that included AbbVie’s strategic investment arm, AbbVie Ventures, as well as VC firm Lightstone Ventures.

Disarm’s CEO, Alvin Shih, Msaid: “Disarm’s innovative approach to treating axonal degeneration holds tremendous promise for addressing a wide spectrum of neurological diseases, and we have made significant strides toward enabling potentially transformative therapies.

“Lilly is ideally suited to advance this exciting new approach to treating axonal degeneration, and we look forward to seeing patients benefit from the work that Disarm initiated.”