Gilead Exits Allogeneic Cell Therapy Collaborations, Bets Big on In Vivo CAR-T with Interius Acquisition

Currently, the next-generation development strategies for CAR cell therapy are mainly divided into two approaches: one is the long-standing "off-the-shelf" allogeneic approach, and the other is the rapidly emerging in vivo (within the body) approach.

Recently, the international market has shown a stronger preference for the development of in vivo cell therapies, as evidenced by: the shutdown of multiple allogeneic cell development companies, the termination of allogeneic cell collaboration projects, and the frequent occurrence of collaborations/acquisitions related to in vivo cell therapies.

And recently, Gilead Sciences' investment activities in cell therapy also confirm this point.

In fact, Gilead Sciences established its position as a global cell therapy giant after acquiring Kite Pharma. However, a close look at Gilead’s cell therapy pipeline reveals that all internally developed projects are autologous products, and the引进 pipelines listed in the pipeline chart are also autologous.

For the attitude towards allogeneic CAR-T cell therapy in previous years, Gilead Sciences mainly focused on external collaborations, reaching several agreements regarding allogeneic...Large-scale cooperation on CAR-T, such as withAppia Bio Collaboration AllogeneicCAR-iNKT, andShoreline Biosciences Collaborates on Allogeneic CAR-NK.

However, these two collaborations have recently come to an end.

FirstAppiaDue to cash depletion, a five-year operation ended, causing the collaboration with Gilead Sciences to beForced Termination. This collaboration isGilead Sciences/Kite entered into an agreement worth up to $875 million with Appia Bio in August 2021 to develop two CAR-iNKT projects based on Appia Bio's ACUA platform.

Secondly, Gilead Sciences voluntarily terminated its collaboration withShoreline's Collaboration on Allogeneic CAR-NK. This collaboration was reached in June 2021, with a potential total amount exceeding 2.3 billion US dollars. The core of the collaboration is the development of allogeneic CAR-NK cells.And potentially expand to CAR-macrophages.

A Shutdown of an Allogeneic Cell Development Company

The acquisition of Interius has supplemented Gilead/Kite's integrated in vivo platform and expanded its expertise in in vivo cell therapy.

Notably, this year, several MNCs have acquired in vivo cell development companies, including AstraZeneca, AbbVie, and Gilead Sciences.

Gilead Sciences Joins the In Vivo CAR-T Buying Frenzy

$2.1 Billion! AbbVie Invests in In Vivo CAR-T

In fact, starting from 2024, in vivo CAR-T has become the preferred investment and cooperation choice for many multinational corporations (MNCs), including Novartis, AstraZeneca, Astellas, AbbVie, Gilead Sciences, and more.

As global pharmaceutical giants纷纷 enter the field, in vivo CAR-T is becoming a highly sought-after project.

References:

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

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