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Eli Lilly's Oncology Focus

On October 6, Eli Lilly & Co. became the latest pharmaceutical company to jump on the cancer bandwagon, with its $6.5 billion acquisition of ImClone Systems Inc.The deal gives Lilly the royalty stream to one marketed product-cetuximab (Erbitux), plus five additional clinical stage compounds, many of which are biologics. The problem is many of the candidate drugs face stiff competition--and the pharma has severely depleted its cash holdings to get the deal signed.

It’s official. Primary care is out; oncology is the new therapeutic area of choice for Big Pharma desperate for new products. On October 6, Eli Lilly & Co. became the latest pharmaceutical company to jump on the cancer bandwagon, with its $6.5 billion acquisition of ImClone Systems Inc.[See Deal] "The combination of Lilly’s and ImClone’s current cancer franchises creates a true oncology powerhouse," said John Lechleiter, Lilly’s president and CEO in a conference call announcing the deal. The central question now is whether the Indianapolis-based pharmaceutical company can turn the buyout—the largest in its history--into a win for shareholders.

Much of Lilly’s justification for the acquisition hinges on ImClone’s interesting but early-stage oncology pipeline. The deal gives Lilly the...

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