Lilly to Buy Ajax for Up to $2.3 Billion in Cancer-Drug Push (2)

Eli Lilly & Co. agreed to buy closely held Ajax Therapeutics Inc. for as much as $2.3 billion in cash, part of its effort to build out a portfolio of breakthrough cancer therapies.

Ajax’s lead medicine is a once-daily pill in the early stages of study for myelofibrosis, a rare type of blood cancer that causes scarring in the bone marrow. Key data on the drug are due later this year.

The purchase price includes an upfront payment and potential milestones tied to hitting clinical and regulatory steps, the companies said in a statement on Monday.

Lilly has been ...