The acquisition will strengthen Lilly’s pipeline with a new class of therapies built on engineered circular RNA and proprietary lipid nanoparticles.
Eli Lilly and Company (LLY) announced on Monday that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Orna Therapeutics, a biotechnology firm focused on cell therapies. Orna shareholders could receive up to $2.4 billion in cash, including upfront and milestone-based payments.
LLY stock was up 1.6% in pre-market trading on Monday.
The acquisition will strengthen Lilly’s pipeline with a new class of therapies built on engineered circular RNA and proprietary lipid nanoparticles, enabling the body to generate its own disease-fighting cell therapies.
“Early autologous CAR-T studies have shown the promise of cell therapy for patients with autoimmune diseases, but the complexity, cost, and logistics of ex vivo approaches make it challenging to deliver these breakthroughs to the broader population of patients who need them. We look forward to working with Orna colleagues to potentially unlock an entirely new class of genetic medicines and cell therapies for patients who today have limited or no treatment options,” said Francisco Ramírez-Valle, Senior VP, Head of Immunology Research and Early Clinical Development.
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