Tracking Capital in CGT: A fast start to deal activity in 2026

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Developed by the ISCT Business Development and Finance (BDF) Committee

Q1 2026 was the most active quarter for CGT investment recorded in this series with aggregate disclosed deal value significantly exceeding any quarter in 2025. Twenty-two disclosed transactions are covered in this edition: eight M&A and licensing deals with combined potential value of approximately $17.8 billion, and fourteen venture financings, private placements, and IPOs of approximately $50 million or more totalling approximately $2.1 billion, bringing aggregate disclosed deal value to approximately $19.9 billion when milestone payments are included. This edition covers deals from January to March 2026, focusing on transactions of approximately $50 million or more and including modalities such as ex vivo and in vivo CAR-T, T-cell engagers (TCEs), RNA and gene editing, AAV gene therapy, stem cell and regenerative therapies.

The quarter was defined by a small number of major pharma deals led by Gilead Sciences and Eli Lilly, with a broad base of venture financing at a lower scale. Gilead alone accounted for approximately $10 billion in total potential deal value across two separate transactions. T-cell engagers emerged as a distinct M&A category for the first time.

1. Mergers & Acquisitions and Licensing Transactions

Eight disclosed M&A and licensing transactions with combined potential deal value of approximately $17.8 billion were identified in Q1 2026.

Figure 1. CGT M&A and licensing deal value and volume by modality, Q1 2026 ($Bn USD; total potential deal values shown).

1.1 Ex Vivo CAR-T: Gilead Makes Another Big Bet

The largest disclosed deal of the quarter was Gilead Sciences' acquisition of Arcellx for $7.8 billion ($115 per share plus a contingent value right), securing anito-cel, a BCMA-targeted ex vivo CAR-T that has reported durability data from pivotal Phase 2 studies in relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma. The acquisition adds Arcellx's multiple myeloma CAR-T programme to Gilead's existing Kite portfolio.¹ Beyond anito-cel, Arcellx brings its proprietary D-Domain binder and the ARC-SparX adaptor platform, with additional programmes in the pipeline.

A second ex vivo transaction came from AstraZeneca, which acquired the remaining China rights to C-CAR031 from Chinese biotech AbelZeta in a deal worth up to $630 million, with an undisclosed portion upfront. C-CAR031 is an armoured GPC3-targeting autologous CAR-T in development for hepatocellular carcinoma, extending the modality into solid tumours.²

1.2 T-Cell Engagers: Back in the Spotlight

The most structurally significant M&A trend in Q1 was the proliferation of T-cell engager (TCE) deals, with four transactions totalling approximately $5.8 billion in potential deal value.

AbbVie licensed ex-China rights to Zelgen Biopharma's DLL3-targeting trispecific T-cell engager, in development for small cell lung cancer and hepatocellular carcinoma, in a deal worth up to approximately $1.1 billion with $100 million upfront³. Bristol Myers Squibb licensed Janux Therapeutics' tumour-activated T-cell engager (TATA) platform for solid tumours for up to $850 million with $50 million upfront⁴. Astellas Pharma licensed Vir Biotechnology's masked PSMA×CD3 T-cell engager VIR-5500 for prostate cancer for up to $1.7 billion with $335 million upfront, adding a differentiated masked TCE to its oncology pipeline⁵. Gilead Sciences acquired Ouro Medicines and its BCMA-targeting T-cell engager OM336 for up to $2.17 billion with $1.67 billion upfront, marking a strategic move into autoimmune disease beyond oncology, with Galapagos in advanced discussions to collaborate on the programme⁶.

Four separate large pharma companies announcing TCE transactions in a single quarter signals the modality's transition into mainstream M&A activity. Gilead's Ouro acquisition also marks an early extension of TCEs from oncology into autoimmune indications.

1.3 In Vivo RNA and Gene Editing: Major Deals by Eli Lilly

Eli Lilly announced two strategic CGT transactions in Q1, with combined disclosed deal value of up to approximately $3.5 billion including an undisclosed upfront amount. The largest was the acquisition of Orna Therapeutics for up to $2.4 billion⁷, giving Lilly Orna's oRNA circular RNA platform alongside a pipeline of in vivo CAR-T constructs spanning CD19 and regulatory T cell (Treg) programmes in autoimmune disease. The oRNA platform uses circular RNA delivered by lipid nanoparticles to encode CAR-T constructs, generating CAR-T cells inside the patient without ex vivo manufacturing. The deal sits at the intersection of in vivo engineering, RNA therapeutics, and the autoimmune pivot evident across Q1 M&A.

Lilly's second CGT deal of the quarter was a licensing agreement with Germany's Seamless Therapeutics for its recombinase-based gene editing platform, worth up to $1.12 billion⁸ and initially targeting DFNB1 hearing loss.

2. Venture Financing, Private Placements & IPOs

Fourteen disclosed transactions of approximately $50 million or more, totalling approximately $2.1 billion, were recorded across venture financing rounds and public market events in Q1 2026 (excluding manufacturing-infrastructure financings, which are discussed separately in section 2.6).

Figure 2. CGT venture financing, private placements, and IPOs by modality, Q1 2026 ($M USD; includes disclosed rounds above $50M; excludes manufacturing infrastructure).

2.1 Ex Vivo CAR-T

Four ex vivo CAR-T programmes drew significant venture capital in Q1. Generate:Biomedicines raised $400 million in a Nasdaq IPO⁹, advancing an armoured MUC16-targeting CAR-T alongside its AI-driven biologics platform. Orca Bio raised $250 million (plus a $100 million SVB credit facility) for its precision allogeneic T-cell immunotherapy, Orca-T¹⁰. Oricell Therapeutics completed an initial $70 million close of its Series C1 for a GPC3-targeting CAR-T programme in solid tumours¹¹, and Lyell Immunopharma closed a $50 million milestone-triggered tranche following a clinical benchmark in the PiNACLE pivotal trial for ronde-cel, a dual-targeting CD19/CD20 CAR-T for large B-cell lymphoma.¹² The majority of ex vivo CAR-T financing rounds in Q1 involved autologous platforms (Generate, Oricell, and Lyell) with Orca Bio the sole allogeneic programme in the group.

2.2 RNA and Gene Engineering

Two transactions totalling $610 million reflected continued investor confidence in RNA and gene engineering platforms. CRISPR Therapeutics completed a $550 million convertible note offering, to advance its multi-programme gene editing pipeline¹³. BreezeBio (formerly GenEdit) raised $60 million for an mRNA-based immune tolerance therapy in type 1 diabetes, illustrating the growing geographic diversification of CGT venture capital.¹⁴

2.3 AAV gene therapy

Beacon Therapeutics raised more than $75 million in a Series C¹⁵ to advance its AAV gene therapy for X-linked retinitis pigmentosa towards BLA submission, continuing the trend of investor preference for AAV in smaller retinal indications with predictable regulatory pathways.

2.4 Stem Cell and Regenerative Therapies

Stem cell and regenerative programmes accounted for the largest cluster of venture deals in Q1. Regend Therapeutics raised a RMB 350 million (~$50 million) Series C to take REGEND001, a bronchial epithelial progenitor cell therapy for IPF and COPD, into Phase 3.¹⁶ Medipost raised $140 million for its allogeneic umbilical cord blood-derived MSC therapy for knee osteoarthritis to enter into a US Phase 3 trial.¹⁷ Century Therapeutics closed a $135 million private placement to advance CNTY-813, an iPSC-derived beta islet cell therapy for type 1 diabetes to IND submission.¹⁸ Innovacell raised approximately $92 million (¥14.17 billion) on the Tokyo Stock Exchange for its autologous skeletal myoblast programme (ICEF15), targeting faecal and urinary incontinence¹⁹, and Cytotheryx closed a $60 million Series A to advance a hepatocyte cell therapy programme.²⁰

2.5 T-Cell Engagers

Crossbow Therapeutics raised $77 million in a Series B21 for CBX-250, a T-cell engager targeting peptide-HLA complexes on myeloid cancer cells. Vibrant Therapeutics raised $61 million in a private financing for its logic-gated immunotherapy platform, designed to improve tumour selectivity through conditional antigen recognition in solid indications.²²

2.6 Manufacturing Infrastructure: Significant Spends

While not included in the figures of this analysis, it is worth noting that Q1 2026 saw significant investment in CGT manufacturing and infrastructure across venture, M&A, and corporate channels. Cellares raised $257 million in a Series D²³ for its integrated cell shuttle manufacturing platform. GI Partners acquired Charles River's CDMO and Cell Solutions businesses, and Octane Medical Group acquired Lonza's personalised medicine business including the Cocoon Platform. On the big pharma side, Johnson & Johnson committed more than $1 billion to a new cell therapy facility in Pennsylvania²⁴ while AstraZeneca announced an end-to-end CAR-T centre in Shanghai²⁵.

Conclusion

Three themes stand out across Q1 2026 deal activity.

Large pharma remains willing to pay for differentiated CGT platforms. Gilead’s Arcellx and Ouro acquisitions, and Lilly’s Orna and Seamless transactions, show that major buyers are still active where a lead asset is backed by broader platform potential, whether that is Arcellx’s D-Domain binder and ARC-SparX adaptor, Orna’s circular RNA delivery, or Seamless’s recombinase editing.

T-cell engagers became a mainstream deal category. AbbVie, BMS, Astellas, and Gilead all announced TCE transactions in Q1, spanning DLL3, PSMA×CD3, BCMA, and tumour-activated platforms across oncology and autoimmune indications. What is notable is the breadth of indication: a single quarter produced TCE deals across prostate cancer, small cell lung cancer, haematological malignancy, and autoimmune disease – a spread that would have been implausible for any CGT modality just a few years ago.

CGT capital continues to broaden beyond conventional haematology/oncology CAR-T. Autoimmune disease, in vivo cell engineering, regenerative medicine, and manufacturing infrastructure all drew meaningful investment in Q1. The common thread is selectivity: capital is concentrating on technologies with clear translational paths, defined regulatory routes, and credible routes to scale.

Appendix: Deal List

Table 1. List of all companies and respective deals covered in this edition (Q1 2026), with combined potential value ($M USD upfront and deferred payment/biobucks) and modality

Company Name	Up-front ($M USD)	Deferred / biobucks ($M USD)	Technology / modality
*M&A and licensing transactions*	*9,955*	*7,895*	*8 deals*
Arcellx (Gilead)	7,800	—	Ex vivo CAR-T (BCMA, MM)
AbelZeta (AstraZeneca)	—	630	Ex vivo autologous CAR-T (GPC3, HCC)
Ouro Medicines (Gilead)	1,670	500	TCE (BCMA, autoimmune)
Vir Biotechnology / VIR-5500 (Astellas)	335	1,370	TCE (PSMA×CD3, prostate)
Orna Therapeutics (Eli Lilly)	—	2,400	In vivo CAR-T, circular RNA
Seamless Therapeutics (Eli Lilly)	—	1,120	In vivo gene editing (recombinase)
Zelgen Biopharma (AbbVie, ex-China)	100	1,075	TCE (DLL3 trispecific, SCLC/HCC)
Janux Therapeutics (BMS)	50	800	TCE platform (TATA, solid tumours)
*Venture, equity rounds & IPOs*	*~2,070*	—	*14 deals*
CRISPR Therapeutics	550	—	RNA / gene editing
Generate:Biomedicines	400	—	Ex vivo CAR-T (MUC16), AI biologics (IPO)
Regend Therapeutics	~50 (RMB 350M)	—	Stem cell / regenerative
Orca Bio	250	—	Allogeneic T-cell immunotherapy
MEDIPOST	140	—	Allogeneic MSC (CARTISTEM)
Century Therapeutics	135	—	iPSC-derived beta islet cells
Innovacell	92	—	Autologous skeletal myoblast therapy (IPO)
Crossbow Therapeutics	77	—	TCE (peptide-HLA)
Beacon Therapeutics	75	—	AAV gene therapy (XLRP)
Oricell Therapeutics	70	—	Ex vivo CAR-T (GPC3, solid tumours)
Vibrant Therapeutics	61	—	Logic-gated immunotherapy (T-cell engager)
BreezeBio	60	—	mRNA immune tolerance (T1D)
Cytotheryx	60	—	Hepatocyte cell therapy
Lyell Immunopharma	50	—	Ex vivo CAR-T (CD19/CD20, LBCL)
Total	12,025	7,895