Eli Lilly to buy bowel disease drug developer Morphic for $3.2 billion

(Reuters) -Eli Lilly will acquire Morphic Holding (NASDAQ:) 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 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 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.