Goldman Sachs Alternatives to Exit its Stake in Ajax Therapeutics in Sale Transaction to Lilly

April 27, 2026 - The Life Sciences Investing business at Goldman Sachs Alternatives ("Goldman Sachs"), is pleased to announce that portfolio company Ajax Therapeutics has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by Lilly for a total consideration of up to $2.3bn, inclusive of an upfront payment and subsequent payments based on the achievement of certain clinical and regulatory milestones.

Goldman Sachs Alternatives led the Series C financing for Ajax Therapeutics in 2024 and served on the Company's board of directors since that time. Ajax Therapeutics was founded in 2019 by Dr. Ross Levine, Chief Scientific Officer of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and other leading scientists with the goal of developing novel therapeutics to treat myeloproliferative neoplasms. The Company's lead program, AJ1-11095, is a first-in-class Type II JAK 2 inhibitor in clinical development for myelofibrosis that has the potential to deliver deeper and more durable efficacy than currently approved therapies.

Amit Sinha, Global Head and Chief Investment Officer of Life Sciences Investing at Goldman Sachs Alternatives, said, "Our investment in Ajax Therapeutics is illustrative of our strategy in Life Sciences of partnering with great scientific founders and management teams to develop novel medicines with the potential to transform patient outcomes. We sourced Ajax as a proprietary opportunity through our relationship with co-founder Dr. Ross Levine, who had been an advisor to our investing business. We are pleased to have worked with the Company to advance AJ1-11095 into clinical development and look forward to seeing the program realize its potential as an important treatment for patients with myelofibrosis and polycythemia vera."

Martin Vogelbaum, co-founder and CEO of Ajax Therapeutics, said, "We have appreciated the support from Goldman Sachs Alternatives over the last two years. By leading our Series C financing, they enabled us to raise sufficient capital to move our lead program, AJ1-11095, into a Phase 1 study in myelofibrosis which was initiated in October 2024. As board members, they have been actively involved with many of the company's key operational and financial decisions including weighing the merits of selling the company at this stage of development."

Ross Levine, MD, co-founder of Ajax Therapeutics, said, "As a physician-scientist, I have devoted my life to treating cancer patients and searching for novel medicines that have the potential for better efficacy. The development of AJ1-11095 as a novel, first-in-class, Type II JAK2 inhibitor represents decades of work from my lab and the other scientific founders. As a scientific founder, I am most focused on ensuring that the medicines we create have the best potential to reach patients. Goldman Sachs was an invaluable partner in bringing AJ1-11095 forward and helping to realize its potential as an important treatment for patients."

The closing of the transaction is subject to customary closing conditions.

For Lilly, Ropes Gray LLP is acting as legal counsel. For Ajax, Cooley LLP is acting as legal counsel. Kirkland & Ellis LLP also provided legal advice to Ajax.

About Ajax Therapeutics

Ajax Therapeutics, Inc. is pursuing uniquely selective approaches to develop novel next generation therapies for myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs), including myelofibrosis. By combining the deep cancer and structural biology insights of our founding scientists with the industry's most advanced computational drug discovery and protein structure platforms from our founding collaboration partner, Schrödinger, Inc., we aim to discover and develop more precisely designed therapies to address the significant unmet needs for patients with MPNs. For more information, please visit www.ajaxtherapeutics.com.

About Life Sciences at Goldman Sachs Alternatives

Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) is one of the leading investors in alternatives globally, with over $625 billion in assets and more than 30 years of experience. The business invests in the full spectrum of alternatives including private equity, growth equity, venture capital, private credit, real estate, infrastructure, sustainability, and hedge funds. Clients access these solutions through direct strategies, customized partnerships, and open-architecture programs.

The business is driven by a focus on partnership and shared success with its clients, seeking to deliver long-term investment performance drawing on its global network and deep expertise across industries and markets.

Life Sciences at Goldman Sachs Alternatives was established in 2021 and focuses on later-stage venture investments, targeting therapeutic companies in early clinical development with multi-asset portfolios. The Life Sciences team brings decades of experience investing in the sector and leverages the expansive resources of the Goldman Sachs platform to source differentiated investments and partner with companies to enhance value creation.

The alternative investments platform is part of Goldman Sachs Asset Management, which delivers investment and advisory services across public and private markets for the world's leading institutions, financial advisors and individuals. Goldman Sachs has approximately $3.7 trillion in assets under supervision globally as of March 31, 2026.

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