Lilly boosts pain pipeline with buy of SiteOne Therapeutics

US pharma major Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY) has announced a definitive agreement to acquire SiteOne Therapeutics, a private biotechnology company developing small molecule inhibitors of sodium channels to treat pain and other neuronal hyperexcitability disorders.

The transaction includes STC-004, a Phase II ready Nav1.8 inhibitor being studied for the treatment of pain. STC-004 may represent a next-generation, non-opioid treatment for patients suffering from chronic pain, the company noted.

SiteOne is among several start-ups pursuing sodium channel inhibitors. Latigo Biotherapeutics, which raised $150 million in a Series B financing in March, is developing NaV1.8 inhibitors LTG-001 and LTG-305, which are in Phase II testing for acute pain and Phase I for chronic pain, respectively. Vertex’ (Nasdaq: VRTX) Journavx (suzetrigine) was the first non-opioid pain drug green lighted by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).