Lilly to Pay as Much as $2.5 Billion for Scorpion’s Cancer Drug

Eli Lilly & Co. will pay as much as $2.5 billion in cash to acquire a cancer drug that Scorpion Therapeutics Inc. is testing in early and mid-stage trials.

The purchase includes an unspecified upfront payment along with additional payments tied to business goals, according to a statement from the companies on Monday. Lilly will acquire all of closely held Scorpion while investing in a spinout of the biotech that will develop its other pipeline assets, according to the statement.

Lilly is adding to an oncology enterprise that the company began expanding in 2019 with the ...