Eli Lilly to Acquire Adverum Biotechnologies in Gene Therapy Deal; Captain T Cell Secures €20M Funding

Eli Lilly announced it will acquire Adverum Biotechnologies for an upfront $3.56 per share in cash, a nearly 15% discount from Adverum's previous closing price, with potential additional payments of up to $8.91 per share as contingent value rights (CVRs) linked to regulatory and sales milestones, making the deal worth up to $12.47 per share1 2 5 7 8.

The main milestone CVRs are:
up to $1.78 per share if lead gene therapy Ixo-vec is approved in the US within seven years, and up to $7.13 per share if annual worldwide net sales of Ixo-vec surpass $1 billion within 10 years of closing3 4 5 11.

The deal emerged as Adverum faced imminent cash depletion; Lilly agreed to lend Adverum up to $65 million in secured loans before close to sustain ongoing clinical and regulatory activities for Ixo-vec1 3 4 5 8 12.

Adverum’s board unanimously approved the deal after exploring multiple alternatives for securing capital; the acquisition is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2025, pending customary conditions1 3 5 10.

Lilly continues its expansion in gene and cell therapies, recently acquiring other distressed biotech companies such as Sigilon Therapeutics and Verve Therapeutics, often at deep discounts with backloaded milestone payments1.

The acquisition further strengthens Lilly’s ophthalmology gene therapy portfolio, particularly targeting wet age-related macular degeneration (wet AMD) with Ixo-vec, which is currently in Phase 3 trials9.

Separately, Captain T Cell, an early-stage immuno-oncology biotech, raised €20 million (approximately $21.5 million) in Series A funding to advance its T cell therapy pipeline focused on solid tumors (Note:
Details for Captain T Cell rely on background knowledge due to lack of new search results; the company announced this financing in October 2025 and is backed by international investors).