Eli Lilly Launches Zepbound KwikPen, Enters Opioid Treatment; Gilead Acquires Arcellx for $7.8B

Eli Lilly has officially launched the Zepbound KwikPen in the US, a multi-dose device that delivers a full month of treatment in a single pen. Available via LillyDirect for self-paying patients, the KwikPen reduces the medical waste and needle fatigue of weekly auto-injectors.

With prices starting at $299 a month, Lilly is leveraging this familiar technology—already used for Mounjaro—to differentiate Zepbound in a supply-constrained GLP-1 market.

In M&A news, Gilead Sciences has entered a $7.8 billion agreement to acquire Arcellx. The deal centers on anito-cel, a CAR-T therapy for multiple myeloma that has shown deep and durable responses alongside what the companies describe as a predictable and manageable safety profile. By bringing Arcellx in-house, Gilead secures the D-Domain platform, a next-gen technology designed to make cell therapies safer and more precise for oncology and beyond.

Eli Lilly also announced the RENEW-Op-1 study, officially titled "A Phase 2, Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study With a Separate Open-label Cohort to Evaluate the Efficacy and Safety of Brenipatide as Adjunctive Treatment to Transmucosal Buprenorphine With or Without Naloxone in Early Recovery of Participants With Opioid Use Disorder (RENEW-Op-1)." The trial aims to test if brenipatide can safely improve outcomes for people in early recovery from opioid use disorder when added to standard buprenorphine therapy. It targets a large unmet need in addiction care, where better relapse prevention tools could support long-term recovery and expand Lilly's footprint in neuroscience and addiction treatment.

The main treatment under study is brenipatide (also known as LY3537031), given as a subcutaneous injection and used on top of usual buprenorphine treatment, which is taken under the tongue or in the cheek. The trial compares several doses of brenipatide plus buprenorphine against placebo plus buprenorphine, so the goal is to see whether adding brenipatide can help patients stay in early recovery more effectively than standard care alone.

This is a Phase 2 interventional trial with a randomized, parallel-group design, meaning participants are assigned by chance to different treatment arms that run side by side. The study is double-blind in its main part, so neither patients nor investigators know who gets brenipatide or placebo, and the primary purpose is treatment-focused, aiming to show whether the new drug adds meaningful clinical benefit when layered onto existing opioid use disorder therapy.

The study is listed as "Not yet recruiting," with initial submission to the registry on Feb. 11, 2026. The record was last updated on Feb. 18, 2026, which tells investors this is a fresh entry in Lilly's pipeline and that key dates such as primary and final completion are still ahead.

Eli Lilly also revealed an up to $2.4 billion deal to acquire Orna Therapeutics to expand its cell therapies pipeline.