Eli Lilly announced on Monday that it will acquire Orna Therapeutics in a cash deal valued at up to $2.4 billion. The acquisition gives Lilly access to a new technology that enables a patient’s own cells to produce therapies directly inside the body, eliminating the need to extract and reengineer cells externally.
The transaction is the latest in a series of strategic moves by the U.S. drugmaker aimed at expanding beyond its dominant obesity franchise. Lilly shares rose more than 3% in early trading following the announcement.
Orna is developing treatments based on circular RNA technology combined with advanced lipid nanoparticles. Its most advanced candidate, ORN-252, is currently in the early stages of development and belongs to a class of therapies known as chimeric antigen receptor T-cell, or CAR-T, treatments. The therapy targets cancer cells that express the CD19 receptor.
CAR-T therapies work by reprogramming a patient’s immune cells to identify and destroy cancer cells. Several pharmaceutical companies, including Bristol Myers Squibb, Gilead and Johnson & Johnson, already market CAR-T treatments, though most rely on extracting cells, modifying them in a laboratory and reinfusing them into patients.
Orna’s approach differs by aiming to generate these modified immune cells “in vivo,” or directly within the patient’s body, a method that could simplify treatment and broaden its use.
According to Evan Seigerman, an analyst at BMO Capital Markets, Orna’s platform could significantly enhance Lilly’s capabilities in oncology and immunology. However, he cautioned that the technology remains high-risk, lacks validation in large clinical trials and faces intense competition from rivals such as Bristol Myers, AbbVie and Gilead, all of which made deals in the space last year.
Lilly has been actively diversifying its pipeline beyond weight-loss drugs, expanding into areas including inflammatory bowel disease, cancer, eye disorders and gene-editing technologies through a mix of acquisitions and partnerships.
Earlier this month, the company also entered a collaboration with Innovent Biologics to develop new immunology and oncology therapies. Under that agreement, Lilly will pay $350 million upfront, with potential milestone payments of up to $8.5 billion.
