Lilly to acquire Kelonia Therapeutics to advance in vivo CAR-T cell therapies

Key Points:

• Eli Lilly has entered a definitive agreement to acquire Kelonia Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotech company pioneering in vivo gene delivery for CAR-T therapies, with an upfront payment of $3.25 billion and potential total payments up to $7 billion based on milestones.
• Kelonia's lead program, KLN-1010, is a one-time intravenous lentiviral in vivo CAR-T therapy targeting BCMA for relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma, currently in Phase 1, with promising early clinical data presented at the 2025 ASH Annual Meeting.
• Kelonia's proprietary in vivo gene placement system (iGPS®) enables direct delivery of lentiviral particles to T-cells inside the body, potentially simplifying CAR-T manufacturing by eliminating the need for ex vivo cell processing and pre-administration chemotherapy.
• Lilly aims to leverage Kelonia's technology to expand genetic medicine capabilities and improve patient access to CAR-T therapies by offering a simpler, off-the-shelf treatment option with broad applicability beyond hematologic malignancies.
• The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals, expected to finalize in the second half of 2026, after which it will be reflected in Lilly’s financial results and guidance.