SNAPSHOT

Gilead acquires Arcellx for $7.8B to revive cell therapy business and challenge myeloma rivals

Gilead Sciences will acquire Arcellx for $7.8 billion to gain full control of anito-cel, an experimental multiple myeloma cell therapy it believes could become a “foundational treatment” for the cancer.

Why it matters: The deal aims to reinvigorate Gilead’s struggling cell therapy franchise, where sales fell 7% in 2025 and are projected to drop another 10% in 2026 amid rising competition. A successful launch could restore growth and strengthen Gilead’s footprint beyond its stronghold, HIV.

Backstory: Gilead entered cell therapy through its $12 billion Kite Pharma acquisition nearly a decade ago, securing the two CAR-T therapies Yescarta and Tecartus. While those therapies now generate over $1 billion annually, the business has faced manufacturing hurdles, slow uptake and competitive pressure from newer treatments. Gilead already owned 11.5% of Arcellx before this deal and had collaborated with the biotech since 2022.

Big picture: Multiple myeloma is becoming a crowded, high-stakes market featuring CAR-T therapies from Johnson & Johnson and Bristol Myers Squibb, along with bispecific antibodies. Early positioning in earlier lines of treatment could determine long-term market leadership.

Zoom in: The deal is expected to close in Q2 with Gilead paying $115 per share, a 79% premium to Friday’s close, plus up to $5 more per share if anito-cel wins approval and reaches $6 billion in net sales by 2029. Anito-cel has been submitted for U.S. approval after showing a 96% response rate in heavily pretreated patients. Analysts say efficacy appears comparable to J&J’s Carvykti, with potential safety advantages, including lower risk of parkinsonism.

What’s next: Regulators are expected to decide on approval by December 23rd.

SNIPPETS

What’s happening in biotech today?

 🫁 Asthma action: Generate:Biomedicines plans to raise up to $425 million through a Nasdaq IPO to fund late-stage development of its anti-TSLP antibody, GB-0895, for asthma. Around $300 million will support two phase 3 asthma trials enrolling 1,600 patients, while additional funds will advance COPD studies and platform development. Backed by Flagship Pioneering, Amgen, and Novartis, Generate aims to strengthen its pipeline amid renewed investor interest in biotech IPOs.

 💉 GLP-1 gap: Novo Nordisk’s GLP-1/amylin combo CagriSema failed to outperform Eli Lilly’s Zepbound in a head-to-head phase 3 obesity trial, leading to a 15% drop in Novo’s share price. In the 84-week study of 809 patients, CagriSema achieved 23% weight loss at a 2.4/2.4-mg dose, compared to 25.5% with tirzepatide, the active ingredient in Zepbound. Novo had aimed to show at least noninferiority but fell short, dealing a setback to its next-generation obesity strategy despite a pending FDA application.

🚀 Moonshot: MoonLake Immunotherapeutics reported strong phase II results for its IL-17A/IL-17F inhibitor sonelokimab in axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA), positioning it as a potential challenger to UCB’s Bimzelx. At Week 12, 81% of 26 treated patients achieved ASAS40 response criteria, a clinical endpoint used to measure treatment efficacy in axSpA, compared with the 47.7% response UCB reported at Week 16 in a larger phase III trial, though cross-trial comparisons are limited. Over 80% of patients also showed clinically important improvement on ASDAS-CRP, another clinical measure of the condition. MoonLake is advancing sonelokimab across multiple indications, including hidradenitis suppurativa and psoriatic arthritis, aiming to compete in markets where Bimzelx is already approved.

💰 AI bet: Angelini Pharma has entered a multi-year collaboration with Massachusetts-based Quiver Bioscience worth up to $120 million in milestones and potential royalties to develop therapies for genetic epilepsies. Angelini will provide upfront and research funding in exchange for exclusive access to data generated using Quiver’s AI-driven genomic positioning system platform, which supports drug discovery and safety assessment. The partnership aims to better understand developmental and epileptic encephalopathies, rare pediatric disorders often caused by poorly understood genetic mutations. The deal expands Angelini’s growing neuroscience portfolio and reflects broader industry momentum behind AI-enabled drug development partnerships.

 💥 Phase 3 flop: Gossamer Bio’s phase 3 Prosera trial of inhaled tyrosine kinase inhibitor seralutinib in pulmonary arterial hypertension failed to meet its primary endpoint, leading to a roughly 77%–80% drop in the company’s share price. In the study of 390 patients, seralutinib improved six-minute walk distance by 13.3 meters over placebo, missing statistical significance and analyst expectations. Subgroup analyses showed stronger effects in intermediate- and high-risk patients at North American sites, but investors reacted to the overall failure. Gossamer plans to consult the FDA on next steps and has paused another phase 3 study while reviewing data and prioritizing resources, ending the quarter with about $105 million in cash.

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