-- Eli Lilly (LLY) has agreed to acquire clinical-stage biotechnology firm Kelonia Therapeutics for up to $7 billion, as the drugmaker looks to bolster its cancer treatment portfolio.
The deal consideration consists of an upfront cash payment of $3.25 billion and subsequent payments upon the achievement of certain clinical, regulatory and commercial milestones, the companies said Monday.
The acquisition will give Lilly access to KLN-1010, Kelonia's lead investigational candidate for the treatment of multiple myeloma, a blood cancer of plasma cells in the bone marrow. The product is being evaluated in a phase 1 study.
"The early clinical data for KLN-1010 are highly encouraging, both as a potential step forward for patients with multiple myeloma and as proof of concept for Kelonia's platform," said Jacob Van Naarden, president of Lilly Oncology. "We look forward to working together with the Kelonia team to rapidly advance KLN-1010 to address patient need."
The deal, which requires approval from regulators, is expected to complete in the second half of this year.
"We have demonstrated the ability to achieve deep multiple myeloma remissions with significantly reduced complexity and cost relative to ex-vivo (chimeric antigen receptor) T-cell approaches," Kelonia Chief Executive Kevin Friedman said. "In combination with Lilly's strengths, our in-vivo (gene placement system) platform is positioned to broaden the reach of cell therapy beyond the current CAR-T landscape in hematologic malignancies."
Lilly shares edged 0.1% lower in Monday afternoon trade, taking its year-to-date losses to roughly 14%.
At the end of last month, Lilly announced an up to $7.8 billion deal to purchase UK-based Centessa Pharmaceuticals to strengthen its neuroscience pipeline and expand into sleep medicine. Earlier in the year, the company agreed to buy Orna Therapeutics, a biotechnology company focused on engineering immune cells, for up to $2.4 billion.
Lilly is scheduled to report first-quarter financial results April 30.
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