Gilead Sciences, a cancer-drug maker, agreed Monday to pay about $11.9 billion to buy Kite Pharma, a move to expand its product lineup in cancer immunotherapies.
In the cash deal, expected to close in the fourth quarter, Gilead will pay Kite shareholders $180.00 per Kite share.
Kite develops drugs in cell therapy, which uses a patient’s own immune cells to fight cancer.
Axicabtagene ciloleucel, Kite’s most advanced therapy drug currently under review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, is expected to be the first to market as a treatment for refractory aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphoma, the company said.
“The field of cell therapy has advanced very quickly, to the point where the science and technology have opened a clear path toward a potential cure for patients,” Gilead CEO John Milligan said in a statement. “Our similar cultures and histories of driving rapid innovation in order to bring more effective and safer products to as many patients as possible make this an excellent strategic fit.”
By Roger Yu
Source: USA Today
CureVac and the University of Texas’s MD Anderson Cancer Center have announced a co-development and licensing agreement to develop novel messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA)-based cancer vaccines. The strategic collaboration will focus on the development of differentiated cancer vaccine candidates in selected haematological and solid tumour indications with high unmet medical needs.
FUJIFILM Corporation is planning to invest $1.2 billion to expand the planned FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies manufacturing facility in Holly Springs, North Carolina, US. This news follows the organisation’s announcement of a $2 billion investment in the facility in March 2021. This additional financial boost totals the investment to over $3.2 billion, FUJIFILM confirmed.
Sanofi’s global restructuring and downsizing is now fully underway, with layoffs stretching to the company’s Belgian offices. Belgian newspaper De Tijd reports that 67 employees have been laid off at a site in Ghent and 32 jobs are on the chopping block at Sanofi’s Belgium HQ in Diegem.
