Eli Lilly and Company announced on April 20 that it will acquire clinical-stage cancer biotechnology company Kelonia Therapeutics for $7 billion.
The acquisition expands Eli Lilly’s pipeline into experimental cancer treatments, specifically in vivo genetic therapy. Kelonia Therapeutics is advancing CAR-T genetic medicines that reprogram a cancer patient’s T-cells to fight cancer and underlying diseases. Its lead program, KLN-1010, targets cancerous myeloma plasma cells that affect bone marrow.
Jacob Van Naarden, executive vice president and president of Lilly Oncology and head of corporate business development, said in a statement that in vivo CAR-T therapies have helped patients fight a range of cancers, but barriers to access and manufacturing challenges have limited their widespread use….