Lilly to buy CoLucid Pharmaceuticals for $960m

Under the terms of the deal, which is anticipated to close by the end of the first quarter of this year, Lilly will pay $46.50 a share for CoLucid.

CoLucid is a biopharmaceutical company, which is developing an oral treatment for migraine, Lasmiditan, with data anticipated from a late-stage trial this year.

If the trial is positive, submission of lasmiditan for US regulatory approval is expected to take place in 2018.

Lasmiditan will add to Lilly’s pain management pipeline, which includes galcanezumab, a potential treatment for the prevention of migraine and cluster headache.

Lasmiditan was originally developed at Lilly and was licensed to CoLucid in 2005. The drug is being developed in two formulations: an oral medication for the acute treatment of migraine in adults, and also as intravenous formulation for administration by health care professionals.

Lilly president and CEO David Ricks said: "Lasmiditan is a novel, first-in-class molecule that could represent the first significant innovation for the acute treatment of migraine in more than 20 years, and CoLucid has made significant progress in advancing this potential medicine.

"This innovation, along with galcanezumab, could offer important options for the millions of patients suffering from migraine."

Migraine is a neurological disease that produces serious head pain, often on one side of the head, and on both sides in several cases.

Other symptoms could include extreme sensitivity to light, sound, confusion, as well as nausea and vomiting.

Image: Eli Lilly and Company's global headquarters, in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. Photo: courtesy of Guanaco152003.