Eli Lilly and Co.’s $1.1 billion acquisition of Dermira Inc. early last year is looking like a smart move after the company’s atopic dermatitis (AD) drug, lebrikizumab, hit all its targets in two phase III trials. Lebrikizumab is an interleukin-13 antagonist and is part of Lilly’s strategy to build a dermatology portfolio to compete in a market dominated by Sanofi SA and Regeneron Pharmaceutical Inc.’s Dupixent (dupilumab), which was the first injected antibody drug available for AD in 2017. Lilly picked up Dermira, of Menlo Park, Calif., along with lebrikizumab in January last year shortly after the FDA granted lebrikizumab fast track status, paving the way for a potential six-month review.
Eli Lilly and Co. and Incyte Corp. are working on atopic dermatitis (AD) from several angles and finding success. The most recent example is the positive top-line results from their collaborative phase III trial of baricitinib in treating adults with moderate to severe atopic dermatitis that show the oral selective JAK inhibitor met the study’s primary and secondary endpoints.
Eli Lilly and Co.’s acquisition of Dermira Inc. for $1.1 billion in cash enlarges Lilly’s dermatology pipeline with the addition of lebrikizumab, a monoclonal antibody designed to bind IL-13 with high affinity, now in two phase III studies for treating moderate to severe atopic dermatitis (AD) in adolescent and adult patients, ages 12 and older.