Eli Lilly is acquiring in vivo cell therapy-focused biotech, Orna Therapeutics, in an immunology deal worth up to $2.4bn.
Through the agreement, Lilly will gain access to Orna’s new class of circular RNA (circRNA) and lipid nanoparticle-based therapies, which are designed to trigger the creation of therapeutic proteins by a recipient’s immune system to treat autoimmune diseases in vivo.
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ORN-252 lies at the heart of this deal, which Orna is developing to treat B-cell-driven autoimmune diseases. The in vivo CAR-T therapy targets the CD19 lymphocyte surface antigen and is set to enter clinical trials.
According to Orna, preclinical trials on its circRNA platform have demonstrated promising efficacy signals – triggering more durable expression of therapeutic proteins than other RNA or cell therapy platforms. In the company’s eyes, this means that its platform could “unlock treatments that are not feasible with current RNA or cell therapy platforms”.
Eli Lilly’s Orna acquisition closely follows a flurry of high-value deals the company has made in early 2026 – including a $1.12bn development and licensing agreement with hearing loss gene therapy biotech, Seamless Therapeutics, as well as its $1.2bn acquisition of inflammatory specialist, Ventyx.
It also marks another addition to Lilly’s growing cell and gene therapy (CGT) pipeline, which has seen a number of inclusions between 2020 and 2025. According to GlobalData, parent company of Pharmaceutical Technology, the big pharma company signed 27 CGT deals during this period.
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By GlobalDataAcross the business, Eli Lilly is looking to continue its successful sales streak after a positive FY2025, which saw the company achieve 45% sales growth through the strong performance of its obesity portfolio. The ballooning profits brought in by its cardiometabolic franchise also led Lilly to make history by becoming the first healthcare company to join the $1tn market cap club, a status currently occupied primarily by tech giants like NVIDIA and Apple.
In vivo cell therapies catch industry attention
CGTs have long been a talking point across the pharmaceutical industry, as companies within the space look to mitigate their associated commercialisation and chemistry, manufacturing & controls (CMC) challenges.
While investors and pharma companies alike back away from the traditional autologous therapy models, many are now betting on in vivo CAR-T alternatives, which are less complex and expensive to manufacture. They also sidestep the patient-related challenges associated with ex vivo models, as recipients do not have to undergo lymphodepletion or treatment with bridging therapies prior to dosing.
As the buzz around this new cell therapy form grows, several big pharma players have invested in the technology – including Illinois-based pharma AbbVie, which bought out in vivo CAR-T specialist, Capstan Therapeutics for up to $2.1bn in July 2025.
Gilead Sciences-owned Kite Therapeutics later made a similar bet on Interius BioTherapeutics, handing over $350m to acquire the company and its in vivo CAR-T pipeline in August 2025.
BMS also followed suit by merging with Orbital Therapeutics in a $1.5bn deal – further expanding the company’s CAR-T portfolio.
Cell & Gene Therapy coverage on Pharmaceutical Technology is supported by Cytiva.
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