Lilly Completes Avid Acquisition, Florbetapir Gets Priority Review

Eli Lilly and Co. has completed the acquisition of Avid Radiopharmaceuticals, Inc. for an upfront payment of $300 million. Avid stockholders are also eligible for as much as $500 million in additional payments based on regulatory and commercial milestones for florbetapir, Avid’s lead program in development.

The marketing application for florbetapir has received priority review designation from the FDA. Florbetapir is an investigational molecular imaging agent for detecting the presence of amyloid plaque in the brain, a defining pathology of Alzheimer’s disease. A meeting to discuss florbetapir’s NDA will take place on January 20, 2011.