Gene therapy company Adverum (ADVM.US) soared in pre-market trading! Has received acquisition offer from Eli Lilly (LLY.US)

Pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly (LLY.US) announced on Friday its plan to acquire gene therapy company Adverum Biotechnologies (ADVM.US) and its key gene therapy candidate Ixo-vec. Boosted by this news, Adverum's stock surged nearly 29% in pre-market trading on Friday, but the gain narrowed to over 6% by the time of writing. According to the agreement, Lilly will launch a tender offer to acquire all outstanding shares of Adverum at a price of $3.56 per share. The agreement also includes a contingent value right (CVR) that could provide an additional maximum of $8.91 per share if specific milestones are met, bringing the total potential value of the deal to $12.47 per share. Adverum is focused on developing one-time dosing gene therapies for the vitreous cavity, with the goal of developing functional cure solutions to restore vision and prevent blindness. Its lead product candidate Ixo-vec is a vitreal gene therapy for treating wet age-related macular degeneration (wAMD). Lilly stated that this acquisition will combine its gene therapy research capabilities with Adverum's technical expertise in ocular gene therapy, helping to expand the potential of gene therapy in addressing age-related diseases. The transaction is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2025, subject to customary closing conditions. Furthermore, if the tender offer is successfully completed, Lilly will proceed with a second-step merger to acquire all remaining shares of Adverum not included in the tender offer, at a price and under terms consistent with the offer.