Lilly’s Kelonia Buyout Tightens the In Vivo CAR-T M&A Frontier
Eli Lilly agreed to pay up to $7 billion for Kelonia Therapeutics, marking another high-profile in vivo CAR-T deal as Big Pharma bets on the space; analysts say deal activity may slow due to a shrinking pool of viable targets, with Umoja Biopharma identified as a prime remaining buyout candidate and offshore players like Starna Therapeutics likely to surface. The pace will hinge on Kelonia’s data and whether the platform can extend beyond oncology into autoimmune indications.
