Eli Lilly Expands Diabetes Offerings Through $1 Billion Protomer Acquisition

Rounding out its holdings in the diabetes space, Eli Lilly has bought the remaining shares of biotech Protomer Technologies, which has a peptide- and protein-engineering platform that can identify and synthesize molecules that sense glucose.

Based on future development and commercial milestones, Lilly said the deal has a potential value of more than $1 billion. Lilly already owned a 14 percent stake in the Pasadena, Calif.-based company.

Protomer engineers protein therapeutics that can sense molecular activators in the body. The company’s chemical biology-based platform allows the development of therapeutic peptides and proteins that can be controlled using small molecules.