July 8 (Reuters) - Eli Lilly ( LLY ) will acquire

Morphic Holding ( MORF ) for $3.2 billion, the companies said

on Monday, giving the U.S. drugmaker access to an experimental

drug for inflammatory bowel disease.

Shares of drug developer Morphic ( MORF ) surged 76% to $56.15

premarket on Lilly's offer of $57 per share, which represents a

79% premium to stock's last closing price.

Morphic's ( MORF ) lead drug MORF-057 is being evaluated in two phase

2 studies in ulcerative colitis patients and one phase 2 study

in Crohn's disease.

(Reporting by Sriparna Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini

Ganguli)