Eli Lilly Acquires Orna to Advance In Vivo CAR-T Therapies

Eli Lilly acquires Orna Therapeutics in a move that sharpens its push into next-generation immune cell therapies.

Orna develops technology that allows for the engineering of your own immune cells inside of your body. Orna is also creating a new class of therapeutics based on engineered circular RNA and lipid nanoparticles that provide patients with the ability to produce their own therapeutics using their own cells.

Their leading product, ORN-252, is an in vivo CAR-T therapy targeting CD19 and will be utilized to treat autoimmune diseases to be driven by B cells. Initial data from pre-clinical studies are showing that Orna's circular RNA platform may produce longer-lasting expression of proteins than current RNA and cellular therapeutic modalities, therefore unlocking new approaches to treating neurological diseases that are currently unattainable with existing therapies

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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,” said Francisco Ramírez-Valle M.D., Ph.D., senior vice president, head of immunology research and early clinical development.

“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,” said Joe Bolen, Ph.D., chief executive officer of Orna Therapeutics.

Under the agreement, Orna shareholders could receive up to $2.4 billion in cash, including an upfront payment and milestone-based payments tied to clinical progress. Lilly will determine the transaction’s accounting treatment under GAAP after closing and reflect it in future financial results.