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  • Lilly bets on in vivo CAR-T with $3.25B acquisiton & UCB purchases Neurona's epilepsy cell therapy for $1.2B

Lilly bets on in vivo CAR-T with $3.25B acquisiton & UCB purchases Neurona's epilepsy cell therapy for $1.2B

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Joachim Eeckhout & Eduardo Longoria
April 21, 2026

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SNAPSHOT

Lilly bets big with $3.25B Kelonia buy for next-gen in vivo CAR-T tech

Eli Lilly will acquire Kelonia Therapeutics for up to $7B ($3.25B upfront), doubling down on in vivo CAR-T therapies as biotech’s next cancer-immunotherapy frontier.

Why it matters: The deal highlights a growing pharma race to reinvent CAR-T cancer treatment, potentially making it cheaper, faster, and accessible to far more patients. It also shows Lilly investing early to secure future growth beyond its blockbuster metabolic drugs.

Backstory: Traditional CAR-T requires extracting and engineering a patient’s T cells outside the body before reinfusion; a complex, costly process with limited scalability. In vivo CAR-T instead reprograms immune cells directly inside the body using delivery systems like viral vectors or lipid nanoparticles.

Big picture: Big Pharma is rapidly consolidating this space. Lilly, AbbVie, AstraZeneca, Bristol Myers Squibb, and Gilead have collectively spent billions acquiring startups pursuing in vivo cell therapy, despite the science still being unproven.

Zoom in: But these billions spent have clearly paid off for Kelonia’s investors, as the company had only raised $60M and now is delivering a 100X return via acquisition. Kelonia’s lead therapy (KLN-1010) targets BCMA in multiple myeloma. Early Phase 1 data showed that four heavily pretreated patients had no detectable cancer after a single dose.

What’s next: Lilly will integrate Kelonia alongside its recent $2.4B Orna acquisition, advancing multiple in vivo CAR-T platforms as clinical trials expand and more human data emerges. Lilly’s aggressive dealmaking may be a hedge against patent expirations for its obesity and diabetes blockbusters in the mid-2030s. A risky bet that might pay off in the long run.

SNAP AGAIN

UCB purchases Neurona for $1.2B to acquire one-shot brain cell therapy for hard-to-treat epilepsy

Continuing with the billion-dollar acquisitions, UCB plans to acquire Neurona Therapeutics for up to $1.2B, gaining access to an early-stage cell therapy (NRTX-1001) aimed at severe, treatment-resistant epilepsy.

Why it matters: Roughly one-third of epilepsy patients don’t respond to existing drugs, creating a major unmet need that a potentially one-time, disease-modifying therapy could address.

Backstory: UCB’s epilepsy portfolio, featuring drugs like Vimpat, Keppra, Briviact, and Fintepla, relies entirely on small molecules that manage symptoms rather than repair brain function. Meanwhile, cell therapies have shown success in cancer and are increasingly being explored in neurological diseases.

Zoom in: NRTX-1001 uses engineered stem cell-derived neurons to calm overactive brain circuits and is delivered via a minimally invasive brain procedure. It’s in clinical trials for mesial temporal lobe epilepsy, a common but often treatment-resistant form of the disease.

What’s next: UCB will advance NRTX-1001 through clinical testing while integrating cell therapy into its pipeline, aiming to complement, or eventually surpass, its existing seizure drugs. NRTX-1001 is also being explored for Alzheimer’s disease.

SNIPPETS

What’s happening in biotech today?

🩸SCD boost: Novo Nordisk is preparing to seek FDA approval for etavopivat, a sickle cell disease (SCD) treatment acquired through its $1.1 billion Forma Therapeutics buyout, following positive phase 3 results. In a 52-week study of 385 patients aged 12 and older, the once-daily oral drug reduced annualized vaso-occlusive crises by 27% and delayed the time to first crisis compared to placebo. Additionally, nearly half of treated patients achieved a hemoglobin increase of at least 1 g/dL versus 7.2% on placebo, meeting both primary endpoints with a safety profile consistent with prior trials. Novo plans to submit for approval later this year, aiming to expand treatment options in a competitive SCD landscape.

🫁 COPD win: AstraZeneca’s IL-33 inhibitor tozorakimab has achieved a third phase 3 success in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), reinforcing confidence in the drug class despite past setbacks from competitors. In the Miranda trial involving 1,451 patients, the drug significantly reduced moderate-to-severe exacerbations over one year in both former smokers and the overall population, meeting primary and secondary endpoints while maintaining a favorable safety profile. AstraZeneca has not yet released detailed data but plans to share it with regulators and at a future medical meeting. The results build on two earlier phase 3 wins and highlight tozorakimab’s differentiated mechanism, with potential blockbuster sales projected.

❌ Trial miss: A phase 2 trial combining therapies from Agenus and MiNK Therapeutics in advanced gastroesophageal cancer failed to meet its primary endpoint, as none of the 15 evaluable patients achieved tumor shrinkage, though most experienced stable disease. Despite this, the studies highlighted encouraging survival outcomes, particularly in patients who received an initial “induction” regimen before adding chemotherapy. This subgroup showed longer progression-free survival (6.9 vs. 3.5 months) and overall survival (9.5 vs. 5.2 months), with 43% alive at 18 months compared to none in the concurrent-treatment group. The results suggest potential benefits of treatment sequencing and support further investigation of the combination.

📈 IPO comeback: Odyssey Therapeutics has revived its plans to go public, filing for a Nasdaq IPO after shelving a similar effort in 2025 due to unfavorable market conditions. The company intends to use proceeds to advance its lead RIPK2 inhibitor, OD-001, currently in phase 2 trials for ulcerative colitis, as well as to push earlier-stage programs like its SLC15A4 candidate into clinical development. Founded in 2021 and backed by significant venture funding totaling over $726 million, Odyssey reported $175.7 million in cash as of April. Its renewed IPO push aligns with a broader rebound in biotech listings.

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