Lilly Re-enters Infectious Disease with $3.83B Vaccine M&A Spree

Daily Biopharma Digest — May 26, 2026

• Eli Lilly unveiled three vaccine acquisitions totaling $3.83 billion — Curevo at $1.5B, Vaccine Company, Inc. at $1.55B, and LimmaTech Biologics at up to $780M — marking its infectious disease return (PRNewswire, BioPharma Dive).
• Lilly’s VERVE-102 cholesterol gene-editing therapy reduced LDL-C by up to 62% in the Phase 1b Heart-2 study, with data published in NEJM (STAT).
• Sobi reported positive Phase 3 results for pozdeutinurad — the lead asset from its February 2026 Arthrosi Therapeutics acquisition (pharmaphorum).
• Pharmaceutical Technology analysts dissected the looming $14 billion Eliquis patent cliff facing Bristol Myers Squibb and Pfizer.

What to Watch

• Lilly’s Vaccine Integration — The company’s return to infectious disease after a seven-year absence will test its ability to execute across therapeutic areas while managing its obesity and diabetes franchises.
• Verve Gene-Editing Progression — Phase 2 data timing and dosing strategy will determine whether base editing can deliver durable cardiovascular risk reduction at scale.
• HAE Market Saturation Risk — With multiple Phase III programs advancing simultaneously, commercial differentiation and pricing power could become challenged as next-generation therapies crowd the market.
• Geopolitical Supply Chain Exposure — Continued instability in the Strait of Hormuz may force biopharma companies to reassess manufacturing footprints and raw material sourcing strategies.