Lilly adds gene delivery technology to CAR T in up to $7B Kelonia deal
Lilly adds gene delivery technology to CAR T in up to $7B Kelonia deal
Publish Date: 2026-04-20 10:32:00
Source Domain: www.biospace.com
After getting a taste of CAR T in February, Eli Lilly is doubling down with the up to $7 billion acquisition of gene delivery biotech Kelonia Therapeutics.
Lilly snags a Phase 1 lentiviral in vivo CAR-T therapy called KLN-1010 in the deal, however the real prize is Kelonia’s in vivo gene delivery and integration technology, called iGPS. The platform uses lentiviral-based particles to deliver T-cells, at which point the patient’s body takes over and generates its own CAR T therapies. The goal is to eliminate the need for complex manufacturing processes and pre-treatment chemotherapy.
Kelonia will add to Lilly’s current capabilities in the space and allow the application of the delivery technology to other conditions, Jacob Van Naarden, president of Lilly Oncology and head of corporate business development, said in a statement.
The Kelonia deal had been rumored over the weekend after a report in Reuters. Commenting on the potential transaction in a Sunday note, BMO Capital Markets suggested that Lilly was “jumping into in vivo CAR-T with both feet.”
After a flurry of deals over the past week from Eli Lilly, Merck and Biogen, analysts predict more M&A action from other big names, including Novartis, Amgen and AbbVie.
April 3, 2026
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3 min read
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The deal “would add a complementary in vivo approach that could broaden Lilly’s push to build oncology beyond small molecules and antibodies. Aiding in efforts to drive durable growth beyond metabolic,” the analysts…
