Gilead has been working hard to bolster its pipeline with a number of deals on the smaller end of the acquisition scale.
This year alone has seen it spend a potential $2bn (€1.7bn) to gain exclusive access to Arcus’ pipeline, buy out Forty Seven for $4.9bn (€4.3bn) and agree a microbiome deal with Second Genome.
Gilead added to these deals today by spending $275m upfront to gain a 49.9% equity interest stake in Pionyr Immunotherapeutics, whilst also holding the option to buy out the remaining equity for $315m. There is a total $1.47bn on the table when future milestone payments are included.
Pionyr is developing ‘myeloid tuning’ therapies, which the biotech believes could be paired with established anti-PD(L)-1 therapies.
The biotech has two candidates in Phase Ib trials, PY314 and PY159, which Pionyr plans to file investigational new drug applications for with the US Food and Drug Administration in the third quarter of this year.
Daniel O’Day, CEO of Gilead, stated that the deal had been made as the company is looking to build out its presence in immuno-oncology.
Previously, Day highlighted immuno-oncology-focused assets when securing an agreement with Arcus, while the buyout of Forty Seven was also driven by gaining access to its pipeline of oncology therapeutics.
Once the deal completes with Pionyr, Gilead will be able to nominate one individual to join the former’s board and, together, the two companies will jointly nominate one independent individual to the board.