Eli Lilly agreed to acquire Orna Therapeutics in a deal worth up to $2.4 billion to secure Orna’s circular RNA platform and an in‑vivo CAR‑T candidate, ORN‑252. Orna’s technology pairs engineered circular RNA with lipid nanoparticles to program CAR‑T responses inside patients without ex‑vivo cell manufacture. Lilly framed the purchase as a strategic entry into in‑vivo cell engineering and genetic medicines, citing potential to broaden access and reduce manufacturing complexity for CAR‑T approaches. Orna’s lead program targets CD19 for B‑cell driven autoimmune diseases and is described as clinical‑trial ready. The acquisition continues a wave of deals by major pharmas to buy in‑vivo or genetic medicine platforms, underscoring M&A as the fastest route for large companies to enter nascent modality classes and scale programs across therapeutic areas.