Gilead Sciences Bolsters Oncology Pipeline with $848 Million Deal for First-in-Class IL-18BP-Targeting Antibody COM503

On December 19, Gilead Sciences announced on its official website that it had entered into an exclusive licensing collaboration with Israel-based biotechnology company Compugen for the preclinical antibody program COM503.

According to the terms of the cooperation agreement, Gilead will pay Compugen a $60 million upfront payment. Compugen will also receive a $30 million milestone payment related to the IND application for COM503, which is expected to be completed in 2024.

Image Source: Gilead Sciences Official Website

Compugen is also eligible for up to an additional $758 million in development, regulatory, and commercial milestone payments, as well as single-digit to low double-digit royalties on global net sales of the asset, with the total deal potentially reaching $848 million.

COM503 has "first-in-class" potential

Compugen, founded in 1993, is one of the "pioneering" companies in the AI pharmaceutical industry and has nearly 30 years of history since its establishment. As a pioneer in the field of bioinformatics, Compugen was the first to combine genomic data with computers for use in drug discovery. Compugen mainly focuses on the research and development of therapeutic proteins and monoclonal antibodies to meet critical needs in areas such as immunology and oncology. Its main business areas include oncology, immunotherapy, and drug discovery.

The core of this transaction is Compugen's potential "first-in-class" preclinical Interleukin-18 Binding Protein (IL-18BP) targeted antibody candidate, COM503. This antibody is designed to block the interaction between IL-18BP and IL-18, thereby releasing natural IL-18 in the tumor microenvironment and inhibiting cancer growth.

Compugen CEO Anat Cohen-Dayag said in a statement that IL-18 is one of the rare cytokines that can be naturally inhibited by endogenous binding proteins, which provides a unique opportunity to use blocking antibodies to increase the local concentration of IL-18 within tumors. IL-18 within tumors can enhance anti-tumor immune responses, potentially overcoming the limitations of systemic cytokine administration.

According to the terms of the collaboration agreement, Compugen will continue to be responsible for the preclinical development of COM503 and subsequent Phase I studies. Thereafter, Gilead will have the right to further develop and commercialize the COM503 candidate.

After the cooperation announcement, Compugen's stock price surged 169%.

Gilead Sciences Keeps Buying

In 2023, Gilead Sciences was highly active in licensing collaborations and mergers and acquisitions, with no sign of slowing down its buying spree.

In terms of licensing collaborations, Gilead Sciences has reached multiple deals this year.

On November 15, Kite, a subsidiary of Gilead Sciences, announced the expansion of its strategic partnership with Arcellx. Upon completion of the transaction, Arcellx will receive an additional $200 million equity investment. After this investment, Gilead's ownership stake in Arcellx is expected to reach 13%. At the closing of the transaction, Arcellx will also receive $85 million in non-dilutive upfront cash and is eligible for potential milestone payments related to the progress of lymphoma and the licensing of ARC-SparX, as well as other milestone payments.

On May 15, Gilead Sciences and Arcus Biosciences jointly announced that they have expanded their previous collaboration focused on oncology drug discovery to include innovative therapies for inflammatory diseases. Gilead will gain early options for exclusive licenses to up to four candidate drugs targeting inflammatory disease-related targets and will pay Arcus up to $1 billion in option fees and milestone payments.

On January 3, Gilead Sciences announced a collaboration and licensing agreement with EVOQ Therapeutics to advance EVOQ's proprietary technology for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and lupus. Under the agreement, Gilead and EVOQ will collaborate on preclinical development. Gilead has the exclusive option to license EVOQ’s NanoDisc technology to pursue candidate products for RA and lupus indications and will be responsible for clinical development and commercialization. EVOQ is eligible to receive up to $658.5 million in upfront payments, option exercise fees, and milestone payments across all programs, as well as tiered royalties on product sales.

In terms of M&A transactions, Gilead Sciences also made two significant moves this year.

In September, Gilead Sciences completed the acquisition of UK-based MiroBio for $405 million. MiroBio is dedicated to restoring immune balance through agonists targeting inhibitory receptors. This acquisition provides Gilead with MiroBio's proprietary discovery platform and portfolio of inhibitory receptor agonists.

In May, Gilead announced the acquisition of all outstanding shares of XinThera, a private biotechnology company based in San Diego, for an undisclosed price. This acquisition complements Gilead's existing clinical development priorities by adding additional pipeline assets for well-validated targets in the fields of oncology and inflammation.

Source: Gilead Sciences, Inc. official website

Editor: Pea Shooter

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