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Full analysis, sources & comparables →Merck on Tuesday announced a research collaboration with Orna Therapeutics worth up to $3.65 billion to develop circular RNA vaccines and therapies for…
Merck is paying as much as $3.65 billion to access Orna Therapeutics' next-generation circular RNA technology, with the pharma giant agreeing to develop…
Merck & Co. Inc. and Orna Therapeutics Inc. have struck a research collaboration and license agreement to develop multiple programs spanning vaccines and…
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Merck and Orna Therapeutics announced a collaboration to discover, develop and commercialize multiple programs (vaccines and therapeutics) in infectious disease and oncology using Orna's circular RNA (oRNA) technology. Orna received $150M upfront, with up to $3.5B in development/regulatory/sales milestones plus royalties; Merck also invested $100M in Orna's $221M Series B. Since signing, Orna restructured significantly: it acquired ReNAgade Therapeutics (May 2024) for its LNP RNA-delivery platform, installed Amit Munshi as CEO, ran multiple layoff rounds (Dec 2023, Nov 2024), and refocused on in vivo CAR (panCAR) programs led by ORN-252, a CD19 in vivo CAR-T for B-cell autoimmune disease (CTA targeted end-2025, first-in-human early-2026); as of Nov 2024 Orna affirmed it would continue the Merck vaccine collaboration. On Feb 9, 2026, Eli Lilly agreed to acquire Orna for up to $2.4B in cash (upfront plus clinical-development milestones), subject to HSR clearance and customary conditions; Lilly is expected to honor Orna's pre-existing Merck and Vertex collaborations, leaving the 2022 Merck oRNA pact in effect under new ownership. No products from the Merck collaboration have been approved; the deal remains in development.
| Deal | Year | Value | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| Merck & Co. Inc. / Orna Therapeutics, Inc. (this deal) | 2022 | $3.6B | — |
| Merck & Co. Inc. / Acceleron Pharma Inc. | 2021 | $11.5B | 90 |
| Merck & Co. Inc. / Peloton Therapeutics Inc. | 2019 | $2.2B | 88 |
| Merck & Co. Inc. / AstraZeneca PLC | 2017 | $8.5B | 87 |
| Merck & Co. Inc. / Moderna, Inc. | 2022 | $250M | 86 |
| Merck & Co. Inc. / Moderna, Inc. | 2016 | $250M | 84 |
| Merck & Co. Inc. / Eisai Co., Ltd. | 2018 | $5.8B | 83 |
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More: 2022 deals · Merck & Co. Inc. deals · Infectious Disease deals