Eli Lilly has agreed to acquire Orna Therapeutics in a deal valuing the company at up to $2.4 billion, buying into Orna’s circular RNA platform and an in‑vivo CAR‑T candidate aimed at B cell‑driven autoimmune disease. Lilly said ORN‑252, a CD19‑targeting in‑vivo CAR‑T described as clinical trial–ready, expands its genetic‑medicine footprint and addresses barriers of ex‑vivo cell manufacture. Orna’s platform couples engineered circular RNA with lipid nanoparticles to generate therapeutic cells inside patients, which Orna and Lilly claim could deliver more durable protein expression than linear RNA approaches. Lilly positioned the acquisition as strategic to scale in‑vivo cell engineering and accelerate pipeline programs into the clinic. The deal follows a string of large pharmas buying in‑vivo cell therapy capabilities and signals continued strategic M&A into genetic medicines, where companies seek to convert promising lab platforms into scalable, lower‑cost modalities for autoimmune and other indications.