By VETTAPHARMA reporter: Eli Lilly and Company has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Orna Therapeutics in a transaction valued at up to $2.4 billion in cash, including an upfront payment and additional payments tied to future development and regulatory milestones. The acquisition is aimed at strengthening Lilly’s capabilities in in vivo cell therapy and expanding its genetic medicines portfolio.
Lilly on a growth spree:
- $1B AI Partnership with NVIDIA Corporation: Building what Lilly calls the pharma industry’s most powerful supercomputer and AI co-innovation lab to accelerate drug discovery and development timelines.
- $2.4B Acquisition of Orna Therapeutics: Expanding into in vivo cell therapies and circular RNA technology to advance next-generation genetic medicines.
- Major Strategic Deals in 2025–2026: Including $1.2B acquisition of Ventyx Biosciences, collaboration with Innovent Biologics worth up to $8.5B in milestones, and $1.3B acquisition of Verve Therapeutics to expand gene-editing capabilities.
- Oncology Expansion: Up to $2.5B acquisition of Scorpion Therapeutics’ oncology program, strengthening precision cancer treatment efforts and diversifying Lilly’s pipeline beyond diabetes and obesity.
Under the terms of the agreement, Orna shareholders are eligible to receive a total consideration of up to $2.4 billion, reflecting Lilly’s commitment to advancing innovative RNA-based therapies. The deal will be reflected in Lilly’s financial results according to GAAP accounting standards upon closing.
Orna Therapeutics has developed a proprietary circular RNA (oRNA®) platform, designed to enable durable and efficient protein expression inside the body. Unlike traditional linear mRNA, Orna’s circular RNA technology is engineered for improved stability and potentially longer-lasting therapeutic activity. The platform is paired with novel lipid nanoparticle (LNP) delivery systems intended to enhance targeted delivery of therapies.
A key focus of the acquisition is Orna’s lead program, ORN-252, a clinical trial-ready in vivo CAR-T therapy targeting CD19 for B-cell driven autoimmune diseases. Unlike conventional CAR-T approaches that require removing and modifying a patient’s cells outside the body (ex vivo), Orna’s approach aims to engineer immune cells directly inside the patient. This method could simplify manufacturing, reduce costs, and broaden patient access to cell therapies.
Lilly stated that the acquisition aligns with its strategy to invest in next-generation modalities, including genetic medicines and cell therapies, to address serious and complex diseases. By integrating Orna’s circular RNA technology, Lilly aims to accelerate innovation across immunology and other therapeutic areas.
Orna Therapeutics, founded to pioneer fully engineered circular RNA therapeutics, has positioned its platform as a potential advancement over existing RNA and cell therapy technologies. The transaction represents a significant step in scaling that technology under Lilly’s global development and commercialization infrastructure.
The acquisition further underscores the pharmaceutical industry’s increasing investment in RNA-based and in vivo cell therapy platforms, which seek to make transformative treatments more scalable and accessible.
Source credit:
- Eli Lilly and Company. (2026, February). Lilly to acquire Orna Therapeutics to advance cell therapies. Click here
- Orna Therapeutics. (2026, February). Lilly to acquire Orna Therapeutics to advance cell therapies. Click here
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