Lilly lands third oncology deal in 3 weeks, up to $2.3B for Ajax

 

Eli Lilly is picking up Ajax Therapeutics and its once-daily oral blood cancer candidate. The deal follows the pharma’s buyouts of ADC specialist CrossBridge Bio and in vivo CAR T company Kelonia Therapeutics.

It’s a new week, which means a new deal for Eli Lilly. On the heels of buyout offers for CrossBridge Bio and Kelonia Therapeutics, the pharma is now offering up to $2.3 billion for the clinical-stage Ajax Therapeutics.

The focal point of the deal is the biotech’s lead program AJ1-11095, a next-gen JAK2 inhibitor, according to a Monday release. AJ1-11095 is designed to treat myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs), rare blood cancers that occur when the bone marrow creates too many blood cells. The asset’s “unique mode of binding JAK2” is supposed to deliver more durable disease control for myelofibrosis and polycythemia vera—two MPN diseases—compared to current therapies, such as Incyte’s Jakafi, per the biotech.

AJ1-11095 is currently being studied in a Phase 1 trial for patients with myelofibrosis who have previously been treated with an approved JAK2 inhibitor. Ajax anticipates sharing proof-of-concept data from the trial later this year, according to the company release.

Ajax’s asset has also secured FDA orphan drug status as the first clinical-stage JAK2 inhibitor that binds to the type II conformation of the JAK2 kinase, versus current therapies that bind to the type I conformation.

The acquisition of AJ1-11095 “could offer a competitive therapy in MPNs where traditional JAK inhibitors have failed,” BMO analyst Evan Seigerman and colleagues wrote in a Monday note to investors.

Lilly has supported Ajax since its creation in 2019, when the biotech debuted with help from founding partner Schrödinger. At the time, Lilly served as a founding strategic investor for the East Coast biotech and more recently invested in Ajax’s $95 million series C in 2024.

“Lilly has long believed in the approach and is excited about the potential for AJ1-11095 to deliver deeper and more durable efficacy than available treatments with a tolerability profile that would allow for patients to remain on therapy longer and be used across both the first- and second-line settings,” Jacob Van Naarden, Lilly’s head of corporate business development and president of Lilly Oncology, said in a Monday statement. He added that the company looks forward to “rapidly advancing AJ1-11095 into registrational clinical trials.”

The $2.3 billion potential sum for the Ajax takeover includes an undisclosed upfront payment, plus certain clinical and regulatory milestone payments.

For Lilly, the buyout is the most recent in a string of cancer acquisitions, with one announced every week for the last three weeks.

On April 14, the Indianapolis pharma giant said it was acquiring CrossBridge Bio, a small Texas biotech known for its antibody-drug conjugates (ADC) tech, for up to $300 million. A week later, Lilly was back at it again, penning a deal for in vivo CAR T company Kelonia Therapeutics and its gene delivery platform.

The Ajax acquisition will expand Lilly’s presence in hematology and oncology, with the pharma’s current cancer portfolio focused largely on solid tumor treatments.

“Therapies like Jaypirca (CLL/B-cell malignancies) have provided some base for the company in hematology/oncology, but today’s acquisition of Ajax Therapeutics looks to further deepen the company’s portfolio development in blood-based myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs),” BMO’s Seigerman wrote.

https://www.biospace.com/deals/lilly-lands-third-oncology-deal-in-3-weeks-inking-up-to-2-3b-for-ajax