Lilly to buy Hypnion for access to drugs

US pharmaceutical major Eli Lilly says it has signed a definitive accord to acquire the privately-held, Massachusetts-based neurosciences drug discovery company Hypnion, with the aim of broadening its presence in the insomnia therapy sector. Financial terms of the deal are not disclosed but, subject to anti-trust clearance, this is expected to complete in the first quarter. The announcement, on March 5, saw Lilly's share price dip 0.3% to $51.63 on the New York Stock Exchange.

The objective is to acquire Hypnion's lead compound, HY10275 which, in January, met the primary and secondary endpoints in its initial Phase II clinical trial at doses of 1mg and 3mg in adults with transient insomnia. HY10275 is a proprietary compound discovered and developed by Hypnion as a dual-acting H1/5HT2a product using the firm's SCORE-2004 technology.

"The acquisition of Hypnion provides Lilly with a broader and more substantive presence in the area of sleep disorder research," said Steven Paul, executive vice president, science and technology for Lilly. "Hypnion has leveraged its expertise in this area to develop both innovative technologies and molecules, including the promising insomnia compound HY10275," he continued.