11:14 AM EDT, 10/24/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Eli Lilly ( LLY ) has agreed to acquire Adverum Biotechnologies ( ADVM ) , which is developing a therapy to treat vision loss, in a deal worth up to $12.47 per share, the companies said in a joint statement Friday.

Adverum's lead product candidate, Ixo-vec, is in a phase 3 trial for the treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration, or wAMD, a serious and chronic retinal disease that cause blurred vision or reduced central vision.

The purchase price includes $3.56 per share in cash payable at closing and an additional payment of up to $8.91 linked to the achievement of two milestones.

The first milestone includes up to $1.78 if Ixo-vec receives US approval within seven years of deal closing, while up to $7.13 if the therapy reaches over $1 billion in annual global sales within 10 years.

The transaction is expected to complete in the fourth quarter of 2025. Adverum Biotechnologies' ( ADVM ) shares rose 2.4% in Friday trading, while Lilly's gained 1.4%.

"Ixo-vec has the potential to transform wAMD treatment from a paradigm of chronic care with repeated intravitreal injections to a convenient one-time therapy," Andrew Adams, Lilly's group vice president of Molecule Discovery, said in the statement. "We are eager to welcome Adverum colleagues to Lilly and to help accelerate this innovative medicine to patients."

Ixo-vec's phase 3 trial has completed screening and has been granted Fast Track and Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy designations by the US Food and Drug Administration, the statement said. Adverum expects a data readout from the trial in the first quarter of 2027, it announced last month.

"(Lilly's) scientific depth and global reach offer the opportunity to accelerate our vision to deliver a transformative One and DoneTM therapy that can potentially restore and preserve vision for millions of patients living with wAMD," Adverum Chief Executive Laurent Fischer said.

In August, Adverum posted a second-quarter loss of $2.34 per share, up from a $1.46 loss the year before.

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