Lilly’s Ajax JAK Inhibitor Delivers Promising Myelofibrosis Data

Strategic News Watch — June 15, 2026

Eli Lilly’s Ajax-acquired JAK inhibitor posted encouraging early data in hard-to-treat myelofibrosis — a sign its oncology dealmaking may be paying dividends sooner than expected — as Merck won FDA approval for a Welireg-Keytruda combination in adjuvant kidney cancer and Intellia’s one-time gene-editing therapy hit additional phase 3 endpoints in hereditary angioedema.

Today’s top developments:

• Eli Lilly’s Ajax-acquired JAK inhibitor showed encouraging early effects in patients with hard-to-treat myelofibrosis, positioning it against Incyte’s Jakafi franchise (STAT)
• The FDA approved Merck’s Welireg-Keytruda combination for adjuvant kidney cancer, expanding beyond Welireg’s 2023 solo approval for advanced disease (Fierce Pharma)
• Intellia’s one-time gene-editing therapy lonvo-z hit key phase 3 secondary endpoints in hereditary angioedema, with 62% of patients attack-free and therapy-free versus 11% on placebo (Fierce Biotech)
• A Delaware federal jury found Amgen and its Teneobio unit willfully infringed Harbour Antibodies’ patent and awarded $20,203,704 in damages (Fierce Biotech)
• Rocket Pharmaceuticals sold the rare pediatric disease priority review voucher from its Kresladi approval for $180 million in non-dilutive capital (MedCity News)
• Johnson & Johnson committed more than $1 billion to expand ACUVUE vision-care manufacturing in Jacksonville, Florida, part of its $55 billion U.S. investment plan (Fierce Biotech)

What to Watch

• Lilly-Ajax JAK program advancement — With encouraging myelofibrosis data now public, watch for Lilly’s development timeline and whether the company pursues head-to-head studies against Jakafi to support differentiation claims.
• Intellia regulatory filing — The company’s full phase 3 dataset in HAE positions lonvo-z for near-term regulatory submissions; approval would mark a significant milestone for in vivo CRISPR gene editing.
• Amgen’s antibody IP strategy — The willful infringement finding raises questions about due diligence in the Teneobio acquisition and could trigger appeals or settlement negotiations with Harbour BioMed.
• PRV market dynamics — Rocket’s $180M voucher sale maintains the high-value market for priority review vouchers, signaling continued FDA review capacity constraints and strong pharma demand for accelerated timelines.

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