Lilly Acquires Orna for Up to $2.4 Billion as Circular RNA Competition Shifts to Purification

On February 9, 2026, Lilly announced the acquisition of Orna Therapeutics, which has not yet entered the clinic; shareholders can receive up to $2.4 billion in cash, including an upfront payment and subsequent clinical development milestones. Orna's lead asset, ORN-252, is a CD19-targeted in vivo CAR-T that, per the announcement, is ready to start clinical trials, intended for B cell-driven autoimmune diseases. Its core is fully engineered circular RNA (oRNA) with an LNP delivery system; Lilly says circular RNA may enable more durable therapeutic protein expression.