Lilly Centessa $7.8B Orexin Partnership Detail Continues to Shape Lilly's Diversification Beyond GLP-1
Eli Lilly's $7.8B Centessa Pharmaceuticals partnership announced in March 2026 continues to anchor the company's pipeline diversification beyond the GLP-1 franchise. Centessa's lead programs include orexin-2 receptor agonist peptides for narcolepsy and other CNS indications, with multiple Phase 1/2 readouts due across 2026-2027. The deal joins Lilly's $7B Kelonia Therapeutics acquisition (in vivo CAR-T platform) and $2.25B Profluent collaboration (AI-designed recombinase genetic medicine) as part of a multi-vertical diversification strategy. The $4.5B Lebanon Indiana LEAP District expansion announced May 6 (for Foundayo and retatrutide manufacturing) signals the GLP-1 franchise remains the cash cow, but the company is actively building optionality outside the obesity-pharmacology lane heading into the 2031 tirzepatide patent cliff.