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Lilly to Acquire Ajax Therapeutics Inc.

Ajax's lead asset, AJ1-11095, is an investigational, once-daily oral, first-in-class Type II JAK2 inhibitor currently being evaluated in a Phase 1 clinical trial.

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By: Charlie Sternberg

Associate Editor, Contract Pharma

Eli Lilly and Company has entered a definitive agreement to acquire Ajax Therapeutics Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing next generation JAK inhibitors for patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs).

Ajax’s lead asset, AJ1-11095, is an investigational, once-daily oral, first-in-class Type II JAK2 inhibitor currently being evaluated in a Phase 1 clinical trial, AJX-101, in patients with myelofibrosis who have previously been treated with a Type I JAK2 inhibitor.

Under the terms of the agreement, Ajax shareholders could receive up to $2.3 billion in cash, inclusive of an upfront payment and subsequent payments upon the achievement of certain clinical and regulatory milestones.

“As a founding strategic investor in Ajax, 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,” said Jacob Van Naarden, EVP and President of Lilly Oncology and Head of Corporate Business Development. “We look forward to the presentation of clinical proof-of-concept data later in 2026, rapidly advancing AJ1-11095 into registrational clinical trials, and using our expertise in blood cancer to hopefully deliver another important new medicine to patients and hematologists.”

Martin Vogelbaum, Co-Founder and CEO of Ajax Therapeutics, said the company looks forward to Lilly advancing AJ1-11095 through the clinic and providing a “much-needed” new therapy for patients with MPNs.

Other Pharma Industry Acquisitions

Check out Contract Pharma’s Pharmaceutical Industry Mergers & Acquisitions Roundup.

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