Lilly has already signed a couple of oncology buyouts this month, and the latest will see it take another crack at JAK inhibition. For an undisclosed up-front fee the big pharma is acquiring Ajax Therapeutics for its type II JAK2 inhibitor, AJ1-11095. This approach is intended to provide deeper and more durable efficacy versus approved type I inhibitors like Novartis/Incyte’s Jakafi, and also to overcome resistance. Indeed, AJ1-11095’s global phase 1 trial is in myelofibrosis patients who have previously been treated with a type I inhibitor. Proof-of-concept data are due later this year, and presumably Lilly has seen promising signs. Ultimately Lilly, an existing Ajax investor, hopes that the asset could be used in both the first and second-line settings, and plans “rapidly” to advance AJ1-11095 into registrational studies. Lilly already markets a JAK inhibitor, Olumiant, but for autoimmune disorders. The company was also developing a JAK2 V617F inhibitor, gandotinib, but halted that project; this mutant-selective approach is now being pursued by Incyte, Prelude and Eilean. In April Lilly bought the in vivo Car-T player Kelonia, and the dual-payload ADC specialist CrossBridge Bio; outside oncology, the group has picked up Orna and Centessa, the latter for $6.3bn up front. Lilly’s 2026 oncology acquisitionsAcquired companyUp frontPotential totalPlatformsDateAjax TherapeuticsNot disclosed$2.3bnType II JAK2 inhibitors27 Apr 2026Kelonia Therapeutics$3.25bn$7.0bnIn vivo Car-Ts20 Apr 2026Crossbridge BioNot disclosed$300mDual-payload ADCs14 Apr 2026Source: OncologyPipeline.
Lilly has already signed a couple of oncology buyouts this month, and the latest will see it take another crack at JAK inhibition. For an undisclosed up-front fee the big pharma is acquiring Ajax Therapeutics for its type II JAK2 inhibitor, AJ1-11095. This approach is intended to provide deeper and more durable efficacy versus approved type I inhibitors like Novartis/Incyte’s Jakafi, and also to overcome resistance. Indeed, AJ1-11095’s global phase 1 trial is in myelofibrosis patients who have previously been treated with a type I inhibitor. Proof-of-concept data are due later this year, and presumably Lilly has seen promising signs. Ultimately Lilly, an existing Ajax investor, hopes that the asset could be used in both the first and second-line settings, and plans “rapidly” to advance AJ1-11095 into registrational studies. Lilly already markets a JAK inhibitor, Olumiant, but for autoimmune disorders. The company was also developing a JAK2 V617F inhibitor, gandotinib, but halted that project; this mutant-selective approach is now being pursued by Incyte, Prelude and Eilean. In April Lilly bought the in vivo Car-T player Kelonia, and the dual-payload ADC specialist CrossBridge Bio; outside oncology, the group has picked up Orna and Centessa, the latter for $6.3bn up front.
Lilly’s 2026 oncology acquisitions
| Acquired company | Up front | Potential total | Platforms | Date |
|---|
| Ajax Therapeutics | Not disclosed | $2.3bn | Type II JAK2 inhibitors | 27 Apr 2026 |
| Kelonia Therapeutics | $3.25bn | $7.0bn | In vivo Car-Ts | 20 Apr 2026 |
| Crossbridge Bio | Not disclosed | $300m | Dual-payload ADCs | 14 Apr 2026 |
