Deal builds on the companies’ 2022 collaboration over CAR T therapy anito-cel.
Gilead Sciences is expanding its CAR-T therapy partnership with Arcellx by acquiring the US biotech for $7.8 billion.
Kite, a Gilead company, and Arcellx initiated their partnership in 2022, agreeing to advance Arcellx’s lead candidate anitocabtagene autoleucel (anito-cel), an investigational BCMA-directed CAR T-cell therapy for multiple myeloma.
Anito-cel is currently under BLA submission as a fourth-line treatment for the blood cancer, supported by findings from the phase I study and the pivotal phase II iMMagine1 study.
Clinical data shows anito-cel can provide deep and durable responses and address key challenges associated with current CAR T-cell therapies in multiple myeloma, Gilead shared.
Under the agreement, Gilead is set to gain access to Arcellx’s CAR technology platform, which could support development of next-generation CAR T-cell and bispecific therapies and has potential to leverage the D‑domain BCMA binder in vivo cell therapy efforts.
anito-cel could become a foundational treatment for multiple myeloma over time, including earlier lines of therapy”
Daniel O’Day, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at Gilead Sciences, said: “Beyond the potential launch this year, anito-cel could become a foundational treatment for multiple myeloma over time, including earlier lines of therapy. In addition, the anito-cel D-domain BCMA binder could be important to our work in in vivo cell therapy, further strengthening our potential in oncology and inflammation.”
The transaction is expected to close in Q2 of 2026, subject to customary closing conditions.
This latest acquisition by Gilead builds on Kite’s CAR-T portfolio expansion last August, where the firm agreed to acquire Interius BioTherapeutics, another US biotech, this time for a much smaller sum. The deal also has potential to advance in vivo therapies.
Phil Johnson, President and CEO at Interius BioTherapeutics, explained at the time that in vivo therapy is promising as it could “reduce treatment timelines, broaden access to care and improve outcomes for patients with aggressive or advanced disease.”
