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Lilly Adds To Diabetes Pipeline With Protomer Buyout

 
• By Joseph Haas

After investing in the California biotech, Lilly buys the company in search of safer insulin products. The pharma sees these candidates as pairing with tirzepatide to improve diabetes therapy overall.

Insulin ampoule and a syringe isolated against white background
With its buyout of Protomer, Lilly hopes it can develop a safer, more efficacious insulin

Looking to add to its already substantial diabetes portfolio, Eli Lilly and Company announced on 14 July that it will buy Protomer Technologies, which is working on glucose-sensitive insulins, less than a year after making an equity investment in the Pasadena, CA-based biotech. No specific financial terms were disclosed, but Lilly said Protomer shareholders could realize more than $1bn from the transaction if specified development and commercial milestones are achieved.

Protomer announced an equity financing in November from the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, which followed Lilly’s investment that gave the pharma a 14% ownership stake in the company

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