Eli Lilly to acquire Loxo Oncology for $8 billion

Washington: -Pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly will acquire cancer treatment specialist Loxo Oncology in a cash deal valued at around $8 billion, the companies said on Monday.

The firms "announced a definitive agreement for Lilly to acquire Loxo Oncology for $235.00 per share in cash, or approximately $8.0 billion," a statement said.

The deal -- which represents a premium of some 68 per cent over Loxo Oncology's closing share price on Friday -- is expected to close by the end of the first quarter, the statement said.

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The announcement is the latest in a series of major pharmaceutical deals: last week, Bristol-Myers Squibb said it would buy biotech firm Celgene in a $74 billion cash-and-stock agreement, creating a rival to the world's largest drug makers.

Other recent large pharma deals include French company Sanofi's purchase of US haemophilia group Bioverativ for $11.6 billion and Novartis' $8.7 billion acquisition of rare-disease treatment company AveXis.

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