Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) is acquiring privately held SiteOne Therapeutics and its pipeline of small molecule pain treatments in a deal that could be worth up to $1B to the latter.
SiteOne’s key asset is STC-004, which is ready to enter phase 2. The company bills the candidate as a Nav1.8 inhibitor that could become a “next-generation, non-opioid treatment for patients suffering from chronic pain.”
Terms call for SiteOne shareholders to receive up to $1B in cash, which includes an undisclosed upfront payment and milestone payments based on regulatory and commercial milestones.
In January 2022, SiteOne inked a collaboration and license agreement with Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) to advance selective inhibitors of sodium ion channel 1.7 (Nav1.7) as non-opioid therapeutics.
In January of this year, Vertex won approval of Journavx (suzetrigine), a non-opioid, Nav1.8 inhibitor for acute pain.
