Orient: in vivo CAR~T racetrack heats up, multiple domestic pipelines expected to bring BD expectations and valuation increase this year.

Orient released a research report stating that Eli Lilly's acquisition of Kelonia, in addition to the acquisition of Orna in February, fully validates the strategic value and commercial potential of in vivo CAR-T as the next generation cell therapy technology. Both mainstream technological paths have layout significance, and the focus and investment intensity of multinational corporations continue to increase. This year, several domestic pipelines are expected to release their first clinical data intensively. If the data is positive, the platform is validated and has differentiation advantages, it is expected to bring about the expected business development opportunities and valuation increase. Orient's main points are as follows: Events On April 20th, Eli Lilly announced the acquisition of in vivo CAR-T company Kelonia Therapeutics for a total amount as high as $7 billion, including $3.25 billion in upfront payment and milestone payments. The transaction is expected to be completed in the second half of 2026, once again confirming the strategic importance that global giants continue to attach to in vivo CAR-T technology. Completing the lentiviral vector path, Lilly comprehensively lays out Kelonia's core technology is the in vivo gene delivery system (iGPS), which uses advanced lentiviral vector particles with modified envelopes to enhance in vivo gene transduction efficiency and utilize targeting molecules to promote tissue-specific delivery. In February of this year, Lilly acquired Orna Therapeutics for a total amount of $2.4 billion. Orna primarily uses LNP vector technology to develop in vivo CAR-T therapy. Since then, Lilly has fully laid out the two mainstream technological paths of in vivo CAR-T through two large acquisition transactions within two months. Positive data for KLN-1010, with a strong safety advantage Kelonia's core pipeline KLN-1010 is an in vivo CAR-T therapy using lentiviral vector transduction. It can generate anti-BCMA CAR-T cells in the patient's body. The envelope of this vector contains modified vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) glycoprotein fusion protein and anti-CD3 scFv, allowing the virus to enter cells through the CD3 on the T cell surface. Phase I clinical results disclosed at the ASH 2025 Conference showed that in four R/RMM patients treated with KLN-1010, the ORR and MRD negativity rates both reached 100%, with no cases of ICANS or CRS Grade 3 or above occurring, indicating significantly better safety than the EsoBiotec product ESO-T01, previously acquired by Astrazeneca PLC Sponsored ADR for $1 billion. The heat in the race is rising, and domestic pipelines are entering a catalytic window According to incomplete statistics, there have been more than 10 transactions in the in vivo CAR-T field since 2025, with multinational corporations participating in 8 of them (including 6 acquisitions), attracting high attention. This transaction significantly refreshes the total amount record. Currently, four of the top overseas in vivo CAR-T companies in terms of clinical progress have all been acquired by multinational corporations except Umoja, significantly increasing the scarcity of global in vivo CAR-T targets. Apart from the first-tier clinical in vivo CAR-T pipelines, most are domestic pipelines. This year, several domestic pipelines are expected to disclose clinical data for the first time. The firm believes that if the clinical data is positive and the platform is validated with differentiation competitive advantages, it may bring about business development opportunities. Risk Warning Risks of failure in innovative drug research and development; risks of intensified market competition; risks of commercialization of innovative drugs, etc.