Eli Lilly’s Been On An Acquisition Spree This Year – Here’s A Look At Its Major Deals

• Eli Lilly notched up its sixth acquisition this year with the buyout of Ajax Therapeutics for $2.3 billion.
• Other acquisitions this year include Orna and Kelonia for CAR-T cell therapy.
• In March, Lilly agreed to spend $6.3 billion on Centessa Pharmaceuticals, a firm focused on treating sleep disorders like narcolepsy.

Eli Lilly and Company (LLY) is accelerating its 2026 deal spree, notching its sixth acquisition with the buyout of Ajax Therapeutics as it pushes beyond weight-loss drugs to deepen its oncology pipeline.

On Monday, Eli Lilly agreed to acquire Ajax Therapeutics in a deal valued at up to $2.3 billion, including milestone payments. The acquisition strengthens Lilly’s presence in blood cancer treatments.

Ajax’s lead drug, AJ1-11095, is a next-generation JAK2 inhibitor currently in Phase 1 trials for patients with Myelofibrosis, a type of blood cancer.  Lilly said the deal builds on its oncology expertise and aims to expand treatment options for patients with rare blood cancers such as Myelofibrosis and Polycythemia vera.

A Look At Lilly’s Acquisitions

Lilly kicked off the year by agreeing to acquire Ventyx Biosciences, a San Diego-based clinical-stage company developing oral therapies for inflammatory-mediated diseases, in an all-cash deal worth approximately $1.2 billion, a 62% premium to Ventyx’s 30-day average trading price.

Ventyx’s pipeline includes NLRP3 inhibitors targeting cardiometabolic, neurodegenerative, and inflammatory conditions.

In February, Lilly announced plans to acquire Orna Therapeutics for up to $2.4 billion. Orna’s lead candidate, ORN-252, is a clinical trial-ready CAR-T therapy targeting CD19, a critical cell-surface protein used to treat autoimmune diseases. CAR-T therapies involve delivering genes or genetically engineered cells to help a patient’s immune system fight cancer.

In March, Lilly agreed to spend $6.3 billion on Centessa Pharmaceuticals, betting on a portfolio of orexin receptor 2 (OX2R) agonists to treat sleep disorders like narcolepsy. Lilly also acquired CrossBridge Bio for $300 million to gain access to its next-generation cancer treatment, which uses a single antibody to deliver two different cell-killing drugs directly to tumor cells.

Earlier this month, Lilly agreed to pay $3.25 billion upfront, and up to $7 billion in total, for Kelonia Therapeutics, which is developing an in vivo cell therapy in early clinical trials for multiple Myeloma. The Kelonia deal marks Lilly's second in vivo CAR-T acquisition of the year.

What Are Retail Traders Saying?

Retail sentiment for LLY on Stocktwits has remained in the ‘bullish’ territory over the past 24 hours, accompanied by ‘high’ message volumes.

One user said that big pharma companies like Lilly typically make acquisitions when the risk-reward looks attractive for their pipeline.

Another user highlighted the importance of oncology in Lilly’s pipeline, given the massive market size.

Overall, LLY shares have been under some selling pressure in 2026, declining nearly 20%.

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