Eli Lilly and Company announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Orna Therapeutics, Inc. for up to $2.4 billion in cash. The deal aims to advance cell therapies and help address the complexity and cost of delivering these breakthroughs to the broader patient population.
Under the agreement, Orna shareholders may receive up to $2.4 billion in cash, including an upfront payment and additional payments upon achievement of specified clinical development milestones.
Francisco Ramírez-Valle, Senior Vice President of Eli Lilly, told investors, “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.”
Joe Bolen, CEO of Orna Therapeutics, commented, “At Orna, we believe our circular RNA technology paired with our best-in-class LNP delivery platform have the potential to unlock in vivo CAR-T therapies for patients across a wide range of B cell-driven autoimmune diseases. We are excited to join forces with Lilly, an industry leader in the development of patient-centric therapeutics to realize the full potential of these technologies.”
Eli Lilly shares rose more than 6% in premarket trading following the announcement.
By CEO NA Editorial Staff
