Eli Lilly and Co. (NYSE:LLY) shares are up during Monday’s premarket session following the company’s announcement of its acquisition of Orna Therapeutics, which aims to advance cell therapies.

The strategic move is seen as a significant step in enhancing Lilly’s capabilities in genetic medicine, adding pressure as broader markets edged lower.

Lilly’s $2.4 Billion Orna Acquisition

Under the terms of the agreement, Lilly will acquire Orna for up to $2.4 billion, which includes an upfront payment and additional payments tied to clinical development milestones.

Orna is focused on engineering immune cells in vivo, with its lead program targeting B cell-driven autoimmune diseases through a circular RNA platform.

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.

The press release on Monday noted that ...