Eli Lilly and Company has agreed to acquire DICE Therapeutics, a South San Francisco, California-based bio/pharmaceutical company, for $2.4 billion. 

DICE has a proprietary technology platform, Delscape, for developing oral therapeutic candidates to treat chronic diseases in immunology. DICE’s lead candidate is DC-806, a small-molecule inhibitor of the pro-inflammatory signaling molecule, IL-17, a drug target for psoriasis and a variety of autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. DICE is also developing oral therapeutic candidates targeting the integrin α4ß7 for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease. 

Lilly will commence a tender offer to acquire all outstanding shares of DICE for a purchase price of $48 per share in cash (an aggregate of approximately $2.4 billion) payable at closing. The transaction has been approved by the Boards of Directors of both companies. 

The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2023, subject to customary closing conditions, including receipt of required antitrust clearance and the tender of a majority of the outstanding shares of DICE’s common stock. Following the successful closing of the tender offer, Lilly will acquire any shares of DICE that are not tendered in the tender offer through a second-step merger at the same consideration as paid in the tender offer. 

Source: Eli Lilly and Company