Renowned drugmaker Eli Lilly (LLY.NYSE) is set to purchase Prevail Therapeutics Inc. (PRVL.Q) in a deal estimated to cost at least $1 billion.
The pharmaceutical firm, which is headquartered in Indiana, hopes that acquiring the latter company will reinforce its position in the highly-profitable industry of gene therapy.
Gene therapy is widely applied in the medical field, often to develop medications for treating neurodegenerative conditions like Parkinson’s.
By partnering with Prevail, Lilly intends to establish a gene therapy program, based on Prevail’s experimental treatments.
Once the deal is finalized, Prevail stockholders will receive $22.50 per share. This results in a premium of about 80% to the company’s shares Monday closing price.
Following the announcement, Prevail’s stocks jumped 83.2% on Tuesday while Lilly’s shares gained by 3.8%.