Eli Lilly and Co. (LLY) and Orna Therapeutics, Inc., a biotechnology company, announced Monday that they have entry into a definitive agreement for Lilly to acquire Orna for up to $2.4 billion in cash, inclusive of an upfront payment and subsequent payments upon achievement of certain clinical development milestones.
Orna is advancing a new class of therapeutics utilizing engineered circular RNA paired with novel lipid nanoparticles to allow the patient's own body to generate cell therapies that can treat underlying disease.
Orna's lead program is ORN-252, a clinical trial-ready, CD19 targeting in vivo Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy designed to treat B cell-driven autoimmune diseases. Experiments to date suggest that Orna's circular RNA platform may deliver more durable expression of therapeutic proteins and therefore unlock treatments that are not feasible with current RNA or cell therapy platforms.
Lilly noted that it will determine the accounting treatment of this transaction in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) upon closing. This transaction will thereafter be reflected in Lilly's financial results and financial guidance.
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