Eli Lilly (Lilly) has agreee to acquire Centessa Pharmaceuticals in a deal worth up to $7.8bn. Centessa is a clinical-stage company focused on developing treatments for excessive daytime sleepiness and other neurological conditions.
Designed to treat narcolepsy and other sleep-wake disorders, Centessa is advancing a pipeline of orexin receptor 2 (OX2R) agonists.
The company’s lead candidate, cleminorexton (formerly ORX750), demonstrated a potential best-in-class profile in phase 2a clinical studies across narcolepsy type 1, narcolepsy type 2 and idiopathic hypersomnia.
Carole Ho, executive vice president and president of Lilly Neuroscience, said: “Orexin receptor biology represents one of the most compelling mechanistic opportunities in neuroscience as a direct intervention on the master switch of the sleep-wake cycle.
“Centessa has assembled a portfolio with the breadth and depth to improve wakefulness across a broad array of indications.”
Mario Alberto Accardi, CEO of Centessa and founder of the Orexin Program, said: “By combining Centessa’s team and capabilities with Lilly’s global complementary research, clinical, regulatory and commercial capabilities, we will seek to accelerate the advancement of our orexin portfolio across a broad range of neuroscience indications for the benefit of patients in need.”
Both companies’ boards of directors have approved the transaction, which is expected to close in the third quarter of 2026.