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Eli Lilly has agreed to acquire Boston‑based Kelonia Therapeutics in a deal valuing the clinical‑stage biotech at up to $7 billion, the companies said in announcements and media reports on April 19–20, 2026.
Lilly will pay $3.25 billion upfront with the remainder contingent on clinical, regulatory and commercial milestones, and expects the transaction to close in the second half of 2026 subject to customary approvals.
Kelonia’s lead program, KLN‑1010, is an investigational one‑time intravenous in‑vivo CAR‑T therapy targeting BCMA for multiple myeloma built on the company’s iGPS lentiviral gene‑delivery platform.
Early Phase 1 data were presented at ASH 2025.
The acquisition follows Lilly’s February purchase of Orna Therapeutics and expands its genetic‑medicine and oncology pipeline, aiming to address manufacturing and access barriers associated with ex‑vivo CAR‑T therapies.








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