Autoimmune-Summaries: Daily Autoimmune Updates at a Glance
- decodeMR Team
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
31/08/2026
Lilly to acquire Merida Biosciences to advance treatments for serious autoimmune and allergic diseases (Ref)
Eli Lilly and Company and Merida Biosciences announced a definitive agreement for Lilly to acquire Merida Biosciences, a biotechnology company developing precision therapeutics designed to selectively eliminate pathogenic autoantibodies underlying serious autoimmune and allergic disease.
Lilly agreed to acquire Merida for up to $2.875 billion in cash, including an upfront payment and contingent milestone payments; the transaction was expected to close in Q4 2026.
Merida’s lead program, MER511 was in Ph1 development for Graves’ disease and thyroid eye disease (TED).
The acquisition strengthens Lilly’s immunology pipeline and expanded its potential to develop disease-modifying therapies across a broad range of autoimmune and allergic conditions.
Lilly announced 1-year Ph3b data on ixekizumab and tirzepatide used together in adults with psoriatic disease and obesity (Ref)
Eli Lilly and Company announced 52-week results from the Ph3b, TOGETHER-PsO/ NCT06588283 and TOGETHER-PsA/ NCT06588296 trials which evaluated the concomitant use of Taltz (ixekizumab; anti-IL-17 mAb) and Zepbound (tirzepatide; dual GIP and GLP-1 receptor agonist) compared to Taltz alone in adults with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis (PsO) or active psoriatic arthritis (PsA), respectively and obesity or overweight with at least one additional weight-related comorbid condition.
Week 52 outcomes in both the trials were as follows:
Trial | Outcomes | Taltz + Zepbound at WK 52 | Taltz mono at WK 52 |
TOGETHER-PsO | Primary: PASI 100 + ≥10% weight loss | 30.6% | 4.4% |
TOGETHER-PsO | Key secondary: PASI 100 | 40.5% | 29.1% |
TOGETHER-PsA | Primary outcome: ACR50 + ≥10% weight loss | 39.2% | 1.7% |
TOGETHER-PsA | Key secondary: ACR50 | 43.7% | 15.7% |
Adverse events in participants treated with Taltz and Zepbound together were generally mild to moderate, and the types of adverse events were consistent with the known safety profile of each medicine.
