Eli Lilly sets sights on bigger deals in new fields

By Vivian Lin · September 29, 2026, 6:14 PM · 3 mins read

Eli Lilly CEO David Ricks says the company is hunting for larger acquisitions in areas like infectious disease and mental health. He stresses there is no rush to close any deal.

Eli Lilly is on the move again. The company is looking for bigger acquisitions, this time in areas where it has not been a major player. Infectious disease, women's health, and mental health are now on the table.

CEO David Ricks told Bloomberg that Lilly will not let urgency push it into bad decisions. "That's a phenomenon we describe as shopping when you’re hungry, and you can make mistakes," he said. Ricks made it clear: Lilly will not overpay or jump too early on unproven science.

In September 2026, Lilly signed a collaboration agreement with China's InnoCare Pharma worth up to $3.35 billion, including $100 million upfront and up to $3.25 billion in milestone payments.

Reuters

Lilly is betting it can spot promising science before prices soar. Ricks said the company prefers to invest when data is still early. He pointed out that assets can jump from $500 million to $5 billion as more data comes in. Lilly wants to get in before that happens. This strategy has worked for them before.

Recent deals show Lilly is not slowing down. In late August, it bought Merida Biosciences, a company focused on autoimmune diseases, for up to $2.875 billion in cash. Earlier in 2026, Lilly agreed to buy Centessa Pharmaceuticals for about $6.3 billion, plus $1.5 billion in contingent value rights. In April, it struck a deal to acquire Kelonia Therapeutics, a cancer drug developer, for up to $7 billion.

By mid-2026, Lilly had made 11 of the 45 biggest biopharma acquisitions, according to Endpoints News. That puts Lilly at the front of industry consolidation. The trend is also covered in reported earlier on cross-border biotech investment.

According to a Reuters financial review, the InnoCare partnership will leverage InnoCare's drug discovery platform and focus on cancer and autoimmune diseases, though the specific targets remain undisclosed. This deal is part of Lilly's ongoing M&A strategy, which has included other major transactions such as the $7.8 billion Centessa and up to $7 billion Kelonia deals earlier in 2026.

Reuters

Some rivals are scrambling to fill holes in their pipelines. Lilly is taking a different path. The company is willing to make early bets on new science. There is no rush. That sets Lilly apart. In this business, rushed deals often backfire.

In late September 2026, Bloomberg reported that Lilly is likely to chase "slightly larger deals" like its Centessa buy. CEO David Ricks said the company is searching for assets in scientific "white spaces"—areas where medical needs are not met and new ideas are needed. This means Lilly's run of big acquisitions is not over. More deals are coming.Bloomberg analysis.

A Lilly spokesperson would not say which disease areas the InnoCare deal will target. The details are still under wraps. This was confirmed in a Reuters report.

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Vivian Lin

Vivian Lin is Biotech Markets & Transactions Editor at GenoMethods, covering licensing agreements, M&A, biotech financing, company pipelines, strategic partnerships and cross-border transactions. Her reporting connects deal structure and company strategy with the scientific and clinical evidence underlying each biotechnology asset.