Lilly to buy Loxo Oncology for about $8 billion

(Reuters) - Eli Lilly and Co said on Monday it would buy Loxo Oncology Inc for about $8 billion in cash.

The offer of $235 per share in cash represents a premium of about 68 percent to Loxo's Friday close.

In November, a Loxo drug found to be effective against a wide variety of cancers driven by a single, rare genetic mutation won U.S. approval.

(Reporting by Ankur Banerjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)