Ropes & Gray Advised Eli Lilly in Acquisition of Merida Biosciences for up to $2.8 Billion

Ropes & Gray represented Eli Lilly and Company in its definitive agreement to acquire Merida Biosciences, Inc., a biotechnology company developing a new class of precision therapeutics for serious autoimmune diseases and severe allergies. Under the terms of the agreement, Lilly will acquire Merida for up to $2.875 billion.

Merida is developing antibody-based medicines engineered to selectively degrade pathogenic autoantibodies, the disease-causing agents behind a range of immune-mediated conditions. The precision degradation approach is intended to address the biological cause of these diseases, rather than broadly suppressing the immune system as many current therapies do.

The transaction, announced on August 31, is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026.

The Ropes & Gray team was led by mergers & acquisitions partner Emily Oldshue and included mergers & acquisitions partner Michael Beauvais, IP transactions partner Megan Baca, executive compensation & employee benefits partner Renata Ferrari, tax partner Pamela Glazier, life sciences regulatory and compliance partner Greg Levine, health care partner David Peloquin, environmental partner Peter Alpert, real estate partner David Kaye, litigation & enforcement partner Brendan Hanifin, and antitrust partners Ruchit Patel, Mike McFalls, and Zak Goodwin.