Eli Lilly to Buy Kelonia Therapeutics for Initial $3.25 Billion -- Update

Published: 2026-04-20 10:07:27 ET LLY

Published on 04/20/2026 at 10:07 am EDT

By Colin Kellaher

Eli Lilly has agreed to buy privately held cancer biotech Kelonia Therapeutics for up to $7 billion in cash in a deal that bolsters the drugmaker's genetic-medicine capabilities.

Eli Lilly on Monday said it will make an upfront payment of $3.25 billion and subsequent payments upon the achievement of certain clinical, regulatory and commercial milestones.

The deal is slated to close in the second half of the year.

The Wall Street Journal on Sunday reported that Eli Lilly was closing in on a deal for Kelonia, which is developing a next-generation treatment for the blood cancer multiple myeloma.

Eli Lilly said Kelonia has developed a proprietary in-vivo gene placement system designed to enter T-cells inside the body, allowing the patient's own body to generate chimeric antigen receptor T-cell, or CAR T, therapies that can treat underlying disease.

The Indianapolis company said Kelonia's lead program, KLN-1010, is an in-vivo CAR T therapy currently in Phase 1 studies for relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma, adding that Kelonia's in-vivo platform has potential for broad applicability.

Eli Lilly's deal to buy Kelonia adds to a recent spate of small and midsize pharma acquisitions that have become a sweet spot for companies seeking to bolster the work of their own labs or lineups.

Deals between $1 billion and $10 billion accounted for about three-quarters of pharmaceutical transactions in the first three months of the year, reflecting a more tightfisted approach to dealmaking than in previous periods, when big companies regularly shelled out tens of billions of dollars.

Eli Lilly struck deals in the first quarter to buy sleep drugmaker Centessa Pharmaceuticals for an initial $6.3 billion, genetic-medicine biotechnology company Orna Therapeutics for up to $2.4 billion and biotech Ventyx Biosciences for about $1.2 billion.

Write to Colin Kellaher at [email protected]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

04-20-26 1006ET