Engage Biologics, a biotechnology company advancing novel non-viral DNA delivery systems, announced that it had been acquired by Eli Lilly & Company on May 20th, 2026. According to a company press release, Lilly will pay up to $202 million in cash, including upfront and milestone payments, for the acquisition. Additional financial details were not disclosed in the announcement.

Engage’s Tethosome platform is a novel non-viral DNA delivery system that combines engineered DNA payloads with lipid nanoparticle delivery and a proprietary mRNA-encoded technology. According to the release, the platform aims to retain the advantages of DNA-based therapies, such as durability and programmability, while improving potency, tolerability, and redosability. Tethosome is currently in development.

“With a lean organization and modest seed funding, I am incredibly proud of the rapid progress Engage has made toward a new class of genetic medicines. This is a testament to what a nimble, passionate team can achieve with the tools of synthetic biology,” said Will Olsen, Co-Founder and CEO, Engage Biologics, in the release. “We are excited to begin our next chapter with Lilly, which has demonstrated unmatched speed and a uniquely forward-thinking approach to genetic medicine. We believe that the combination of Engage’s platform with Lilly’s significant capabilities will meaningfully accelerate development of new genetic therapies.”

According to the release, Engage was originally founded in 2021 with the goal of solving two key limitations of non-viral DNA delivery: nuclear localization and innate immune sensing. Seed investors include SciFounders, Pioneer Fund, Cal Innovation Fund, Y Combinator, and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, and additional non-dilutive funding came from the Gates Foundation and NIH-NCATS.