Gilead’s Kite Pharma Terminates $2.3B Off-the-Shelf Cell Therapy Collaboration with Shoreline Biosciences

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Recently, Kite Pharma, a subsidiary of Gilead Sciences, has terminated its off-the-shelf cell therapy research collaboration with Shoreline Biosciences, valued at over $2.3 billion. A spokesperson for Gilead confirmed to the media that the collaboration officially ended in the first quarter of 2025, while Shoreline has yet to respond. In fact,As early as January this year, Shoreline had laid off employees related to the collaboration project, indicating potential changes in the partnership.

This collaboration began on June 17, 2021, when Kite and Shoreline Biosciences jointly announced a strategic partnership to develop novel allogeneic cell therapies. The initial focus of the collaboration will be on chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) NK targets, with Kite having the option to expand the partnership after the completion of the deal to include an iPSC CAR-T macrophage program targeting undisclosed antigens.

Under the terms of the agreement, Shoreline will receive an upfront payment and is eligible for additional payments totaling over $2.3 billion, as well as royalties based on the achievement of certain development and commercial milestones. This agreement follows Kite's investment in Shoreline's recent Series A financing.

Appia Bio andThe setback in the Shoreline transaction does not mean that Gilead has stopped its layout in the cell therapy field. On August 21, 2025, Gilead acquired Interius BioTherapeutics, an expert in CAR-T therapy, for $350 million, and plans to integrate Interius' in vivo platform into Kite.

This year, several MNCs, including AstraZeneca, AbbVie, and Gilead, have carried out mergers and acquisitions of in vivo cell development companies. The shutdown of multiple allogeneic cell development companies, the termination of collaboration projects on allogeneic cells, and the frequent occurrence of collaborations/acquisitions related to in vivo cell therapy seem to confirm that the current international market appears to be more inclined toward the development of in vivo cell therapy.

Reference: https://www.fiercebiotech.com/biotech/gileads-kite-pharma-erodes-23b-shelf-cell-therapy-deal-shoreline-biosciences