Eli Lilly & Co. is tapping the U.S. investment-grade bond market on Monday to help finance its roughly $2.5 billion purchase of a cancer drug.

More than 90% of Omvoh-treated patients who were in clinical remission at one year sustained it with two years of continuous treatmentNearly 90% of patients who achieved endoscopic response at one year sustained it at two yearsOmvoh is the first IL-23p19 antagonist to demonstrate multi-year, sustained efficacy and safety for both Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitisINDIANAPOLIS, Feb. 7, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) announced results from the VIVID-2 open-label extension study, which showed the majority of patients with moderately to severely active Crohn's disease receiving two years of continuous treatment with Omvoh® (mirikizumab-mrkz) achieved long-term clinical and endoscopic outcomes, including those (43.8%) with previous biologic failure. Data from this study will be presented at the Crohn's and Colitis Congress (CCC), being held from February 6-8, 2025 in San Francisco.1Omvoh works to reduce inflammation within the gastrointestinal tract by targeting a specific protein, interleukin-23p19 (IL-23p19), which is a key contributor to intestinal inflammation.2,3"Many people living with Crohn's disease have tried available therapies without success or have experienced a loss of efficacy with their treatment," said Edward Barnes, M.D., MPH, Associate Professor of Medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology & Hepatology, Co-Director of the Multidisciplinary Inflammatory Bowel Diseases Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. "These positive, multi-year data can give health care providers confidence that Omvoh may help their patients achieve and maintain long-term outcomes, including intestinal healing."Participants randomized to Omvoh in the Phase 3 VIVID-1 study who achieved endoscopic response after one year of treatment continued Omvoh maintenance treatment in VIVID-2. The following results were achieved based upon observed case analysis after two years of continuous treatment, including one year during VIVID-1:Among patients who were in clinical remission at one year in VIVID-1, 92.9% maintained clinical remission at two years as measured by Crohn's Disease Activity Index (CDAI).Among patients treated in VIVID-2, 87.6% maintained endoscopic response, defined by visible healing of the intestinal lining and measured by a ≥50% reduction from baseline in Simple Endoscopic Score for Crohn's Disease (SES-CD) total score.Among patients who were in endoscopic remission at one year of treatment in VIVID-1, 78.6% maintained endoscopic remission at two years as measured by SES-CD ≤4 and ≥2-point reduction from baseline, with no subscore >1 in any individual variable.1Additionally:Among patients who were not in clinical remission by CDAI at one year, 60.8% gained clinical remission during the second year of treatment.Among patients who were not in endoscopic remission at one year, 35.4% gained endoscopic remission during the second year of treatment.1These results were also evaluated using a modified non-responder imputation method, presented in the About the VIVID Clinical Trial Program section below.In VIVID-2, the long-term safety profile of Omvoh in patients with moderately to severely active Crohn's disease was generally consistent with the known safety profile of Omvoh. During the second year of continuous treatment with Omvoh, 6.8% of patients with endoscopic response at one year reported a serious adverse event and 0.8% discontinued treatment due to an adverse event.1"Lilly is setting a high bar for sustained and durable treatment response for patients living with the profound impact of inflammatory bowel disease," said Mark Genovese, M.D., senior vice president of Lilly Immunology development

Eli Lilly announced the acquisition of Scorpion Therapeutics for up to $2.5 billion, gaining rights to Scorpion's PI3Kα inhibitor program, STX-478, for breast cancer and other tumors. The deal includes an upfront payment and milestone-based payments. Scorpion will spin off a new company for its non-PI3Kα assets, led by Dr. Adam Friedman. STX-478 targets PI3Kα mutations in HR-positive HER2-negative breast cancer, offering improved efficacy and safety over existing treatments.