Eli Lilly’s $20 Billion M&A Push Moves Into Vaccines

Indianapolis, May 28, 2026, 11:01 EDT

• Eli Lilly said it will buy three vaccine makers for as much as $3.83 billion in total.
• Lilly moves back into infectious disease with these buys, as money from its obesity drug goes into a wider pipeline.
• Shares added around 5% in morning trading after a separate update on broader coverage for Zepbound and Foundayo.

Eli Lilly & Co. is picking up Curevo Inc., LimmaTech Biologics AG and Vaccine Company Inc. in three cash acquisitions worth as much as $3.83 billion. With the deals, the U.S. drugmaker gets its hands on vaccine programs for shingles, staph infections and Epstein-Barr virus.

Lilly’s move is drawing attention as the company looks to push the surge in GLP-1 drug sales into broader growth. Mounjaro posted $8.7 billion in sales in the first quarter and Zepbound added $4.2 billion, according to Reuters last month.

Lilly said it’s done over $20 billion in acquisitions already in 2026, more than any other year, Bloomberg reported. That includes as much as $7.8 billion for Centessa Pharmaceuticals, which makes sleep drugs, and up to $7 billion for Kelonia Therapeutics, a cancer developer, before the latest vaccine deals.

Eli Lilly and Company said Curevo shareholders may get as much as $1.5 billion, LimmaTech up to $780 million, and Vaccine Company holders up to $1.55 billion under the new deals. Payments cover upfront cash and possible milestone payouts for hitting clinical, regulatory, or commercial targets.

“These acquisitions reflect a deliberate strategy to prevent disease at its source,” said Daniel Skovronsky, Lilly’s chief scientific and product officer. He cited antimicrobial resistance—germs tougher to kill with current drugs—as a reason vaccines could get more important. Eli Lilly and Company

Lilly is picking up amezosvatein, a shingles vaccine in development from Curevo, as it looks to take on GSK’s Shingrix. Curevo said its shot matched the immune response of the current standard in Phase 2 and lowered rates of fatigue, chills, and injection pain by over 50%.

LimmaTech’s top candidate, LTB-SA7, is aimed at Staphylococcus aureus, the bug that causes surgical-site infections. Vaccine Company is developing a shot for Epstein-Barr virus, which causes mononucleosis and is tied to multiple sclerosis and some cancers.

Some in the industry see the deal as bigger than just a bolt-on. “They’re building a new business here,” Alex Torgerson, partner in M&A at West Monroe, told MedCity News. MedCity News

Citi analyst Geoffrey Meacham told Reuters the targets are viruses linked to longer-term neurological and cancer risks, a fit for Lilly’s existing focus. “The ‘bite-sized price tag’ helped,” said Shams Afzal, managing director at Carnegie Investment Counsel, as Lilly has done a series of bigger deals. Reuters

The deals push Lilly into two new rivalries. Curevo could target GSK’s Shingrix in vaccines, while in obesity drugs, Lilly’s buying streak still leaves it head-to-head with Novo Nordisk, whose Wegovy is a strong competitor. CVS Caremark said Thursday it will put Lilly’s Zepbound back on covered drug lists and add its Foundayo pill, reversing an earlier move that favored Novo’s Wegovy.

Lilly shares gained around 5% to $1,137.27 in U.S. morning trading. The CVS coverage change was the main short-term driver. Vaccine deals played into the bigger picture of Lilly putting its cash flow and market value to work while it can.

But the vaccine bet still has risks. Lilly said the deals still need to clear closing conditions, like the end of the U.S. antitrust waiting period, and said there’s no certainty the deals will close, deliver what’s expected or lead to products that work in the market. The drug candidates are still investigational and don’t have regulatory approval.

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