Eli Lilly and Company (LLY) to Acquire Orna Therapeutics in $2.4B Deal to Expand RNA Pipeline

Vardah Gill

Thu, February 12, 2026 at 9:38 AM GMT+9 2 min read

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Eli Lilly and Company (LLY) to Acquire Orna Therapeutics in $2.4B Deal to Expand RNA Pipeline

On February 9, Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) announced an agreement to acquire Orna Therapeutics in a transaction valued at up to $2.4 billion in cash. The acquisition gives Lilly access to a technology platform designed to allow patients’ own cells to generate therapies directly inside the body, removing the need to extract and engineer those cells externally. The move is part of a broader push by Lilly to expand beyond its obesity franchise. The company has signed several deals in recent months aimed at diversifying its pipeline. Following the announcement, Lilly’s shares rose more than 3% in morning trading.

Orna is focused on treatments built around circular RNA, delivered using novel lipid nanoparticles. Its lead candidate, ORN-252, is currently in early-stage development. The therapy falls under the category of chimeric antigen receptor T-cell, or CAR-T, and targets cells that express the CD19 receptor. CAR-T therapies work by reprogramming a patient’s immune cells to recognize and eliminate cancer cells.

Although Lilly continues to lead in the weight-loss market, it has been steadily building out its presence in other areas, including inflammatory bowel disease, oncology, ophthalmology, and gene editing. That expansion has come through a combination of acquisitions and partnerships. Earlier this month, Lilly also entered into a collaboration with China-based Innovent Biologics to develop immunology and oncology therapies. Under the agreement, Lilly will pay $350 million upfront and could pay as much as $8.5 billion more if certain milestones are achieved.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) is a global pharmaceutical company engaged in discovering, developing, manufacturing, and marketing medicines worldwide.

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