Lilly adds another M&A deal, now to acquire Merida Biosciences

US pharma major Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY) is continuing its streak of  M&A activity, inking an agreement to acquire Merida Biosciences, a privately-held biotech advancing a new class of precision therapeutics for serious autoimmune and allergic diseases.

Merida is developing biologics 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.