Eli Lilly to buy Prevail in about $1 billion deal

Drugmaker Eli Lilly and Co said it would spend about $1 billion to buy Prevail Therapeutics Inc to strengthen its presence in the lucrative field of gene therapy that is used to develop treatments for neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s. Lilly also forecast 2021 revenue above analysts’ average estimates, helped by about $1 billion to $2 billion in sales of its COVID-19 treatments. Gene therapy has emerged as one of the hottest areas of drug research, with several large drugmakers drawn into the field as such treatments are usually expensive.