Acquisition
May 2026Eli Lilly acquired Engage Bio for up to $202M in cash, including upfront and milestone payments.
SourcemRNA Immunotherapies to Eliminate Cancer
Company research
Public company, workplace, funding, and market signals
Overview
Preclinical San Carlos biotech founded in 2021 that built the Tethosome platform for non-viral DNA medicines; acquired by Eli Lilly in 2026.
Primary product
Tethosome non-viral DNA medicine platform
Founded
2021
Headquarters
San Carlos, California, United States
Team size
1-10
Work style
Onsite
Industry
Biotechnology Research
Sub-industry
Genetic medicine / non-viral DNA delivery
Offices
San Carlos, CA (HQ)
Santa Clara, CA 94070, United States
MBC BioLabs, San Carlos, CA
Business model
preclinical biotechnology platform
therapeutics R&D
partnering/licensing
Funding
Stage
acquired
Total raised
$4M
Latest round
Acquisition · May 2026
Latest amount
$202M
May 2026 · Eli Lilly and Company
Sep 2025
Apr 2022 · Y Combinator
People & investors
Leadership
Co-Founder & CEO
Co-Founder & CSO
Chief Technology Officer
Work & culture
Mission-driven, fast-paced, lean, and highly collaborative; the company emphasizes pushing genetic medicine boundaries and working on important human-health problems.
Work style
Onsite
Compensation
Public job posts showed roughly $70k-$85k for an entry-level research associate and $100k-$150k for scientist/senior scientist roles, with bonuses, equity, and benefits; roles were on-site in San Carlos.
Benefits
Health insurance
Dental insurance
Vision insurance
Performance-based bonus
Significant equity compensation
Catered team lunches
State-of-the-art lab instruments
Product & market
Differentiators
- —>100x expression versus traditional non-viral DNA
- —non-immunogenic / immune-sensor evasion
- —redosable dosing
- —months-to-years of expression from a single dose
- —scalable LNP-based manufacturing
- —nuclear localization of DNA payloads
Technology
Tethosome platform
non-viral DNA delivery
lipid nanoparticle (LNP) delivery
mRNA-encoded Tethosome protein
PCR
flow cytometry
molecular cloning
Gibson assembly
Golden Gate assembly
DNA purification
mRNA synthesis
chromatographic purification
bacterial fermentation
in vivo mouse studies
Competitors
Jazz Pharmaceuticals
Sana Biotechnology
Ideaya Biosciences
Moderna
Sutro Biopharma
Scale & contact
Estimated revenue
$0.5M–$1.0M estimated ARR
Estimated monthly visits
2.5K
Traffic estimate as of Jun 2026
Signals & risks
Latest news
BioSpace · May 2026
BioSpace republished the acquisition release and highlighted the company’s 2021 founding, San Carlos base, and investor lineup.
Pharmaceutical Technology · May 2026
Coverage of Lilly’s acquisition and the Tethosome platform’s attempt to address potency, tolerability, and redosability limits.
BusinessWire · May 2026
Official acquisition announcement: Lilly agreed to acquire Engage Bio for up to $202M; the release also names founders, HQ, platform focus, and seed/backing sources.
Fierce Biotech · May 2026
Independent coverage of Lilly’s $202M acquisition of Engage Bio and the company’s non-viral DNA delivery platform.
PharmExec · May 2026
PharmExec analyzed the deal, the Tethosome platform, and the strategic fit for Lilly’s genetic medicines push.
Jobs and careers at Engage Bio
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