Eli Lilly to Sell Low Blood Sugar Drug to Amphastar

(Reuters) -Amphastar Pharmaceuticals will buy Baqsimi from Eli Lilly and Co in a deal worth up to $1.08 billion as it aims to boost its portfolio of low blood sugar drugs, the two companies said on Monday.

Amphastar will pay $500 million at closing and another $125 million in cash after one year under the deal.

Eli Lilly is also eligible to receive milestone payments of up to $450 million based on sales of Baqsimi, the only nasally administered drug to treat severely low blood sugar, or hypoglycemia, in people with diabetes.

Severe hypoglycemia is characterized by altered mental or physical functioning, which if untreated, can lead to loss of consciousness, seizure, coma and even death.

Launched in 2019, Baqsimi saw worldwide sales worth $139.3 million in 2022, the companies said.

Lilly had acquired Baqsimi from Locemia Solutions in 2015. The drug has an active compound glucagon, a form of a hormone produced in the pancreas that stimulates glucose production.

Amphastar plans to provide dedicated commercial investment for Baqsimi.

The company had received the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval for the first generic version of glucagon injection in 2020.

Other drugs that are used to treat low blood sugar in diabetes patients include Novo Nordisk’s Zegalogue and GlucaGen and Xeris Pharmaceuticals’ Gvoke HypoPen.

(Reporting by Leroy Leo in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila and Shilpi Majumdar)

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