From StockNews.com: Eli Lilly and Co (NYSE:LLY) will acquire CoLucid Pharmaceuticals, a maker of a cutting edge migraine headache treatment, for $960 million, the two companies announced this morning.

The $46.50 per share purchase price of CoLucid Pharmaceuticals represents a 25% premium over CoLucid’s Tuesday closing price of $34.90. The transaction is expected to close by the end of the first quarter of 2017.

CoLucid’s new migraine treatment, dubbed lasmiditan, is currently in the first of two Phase 3 drug trials. The company expects a data read-out for the second Phase 3 trial, SPARTAN, in the second half of this year. If successful, lasmiditan could be submitted for U.S. regulatory approval in 2018, and perhaps hit the market within a year after that.

The companies commented via press release:

More than 36 million people suffer from migraine in the United States alone. Lasmiditan, if approved, would be a first-in-class therapy to treat migraine through a novel mechanism of action without vasoconstriction. This could be desirable in migraine patients who have, or are at risk for, cardiovascular disease, as well as those who are dissatisfied with their current therapies.

Eli Lilly and Co shares were unchanged in premarket trading Wednesday. Year-to-date, LLY has gained 4.49%, versus a 1.22% rise in the benchmark S&P 500 index during the same period.

LLY currently has a StockNews.com POWR Rating of A (Strong Buy), and is ranked #2 of 131 stocks in the Medical – Pharmaceuticals category.

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