Eli Lilly agreed on 9 February to acquire Orna Therapeutics, a developer of in vivo CAR-T therapies, for up to $2.4bn in cash including milestone payments.
Why Eli Lilly and Company is buying Orna Therapeutics, Inc.
Lilly said early autologous CAR-T studies had shown the promise of cell therapy in autoimmune disease, but that the complexity, cost and logistics of ex vivo approaches made it hard to reach the broader patient population. Orna's engineered circular RNA, paired with lipid nanoparticle delivery, is designed to let patients' own bodies generate therapeutic cells and may give more durable protein expression than current RNA platforms.
Deal terms and financing
Orna shareholders could receive up to $2.4bn in cash, made up of an upfront payment and further payments tied to clinical development milestones; the split was not disclosed. Lilly's second-quarter 10-Q lists a $1.233bn acquired in-process R&D charge for Orna in May 2026.
Regulatory approvals and timing
The companies did not detail closing conditions. Lilly's 10-Q for the quarter to 30 June 2026 records the Orna acquisition as completed in May 2026, when ORN-252 was at Phase 1.
Market context
The deal was Lilly's second pipeline transaction in two days and followed its earlier 2026 purchase of Ventyx Biosciences, pharmaphorum reported. Orna's lead candidate ORN-252 is a CD19-targeting in vivo CAR-T designed to reset the immune system in B cell-driven autoimmune diseases.
