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Gilead Gets Option To Tizona's Novel HLA-G Checkpoint, Further Bulking Up Immune Checkpoint Arsenal

 
• By Jessica Merrill

The big biotech will pay $300m to acquire a 49.9% equity interest in the cancer immunotherapy startup with a buyout option. It is one of several immune checkpoints Gilead has secured access to this year.

Photo of handshake of business partners after striking deal
Gilead strikes a deal with Tizona • Source: Shutterstock

Gilead Sciences, Inc. is investing in a potential first-in-class checkpoint inhibitor for cancer in a deal with Tizona Therapeutics, Inc., marking its third checkpoint inhibitor deal since March. The companies announced a deal on 21 July in which Gilead will pay $300m to acquire a 49.9% interest in privately-held Tizona and an option to acquire the company outright for an additional $1.25bn including milestone fees.

Gilead is interested in Tizona's TTX-080, a potential first-in-class medicine that targets HLA-G, a novel immune checkpoint expressed across multiple tumor types. HLA-G could have utility in tumors that do not currently respond to PD-1/L1 therapies like Merck & Co., Inc.'s Keytruda (pembrolizumab) and Bristol-Myers Squibb Company's Opdivo (nivolumab)

More from Deals

Will Other Major MASH Deals Follow GSK/Boston Pharma?

 
• By Joseph Haas

GSK’s $1.2bn payout for Boston Pharma’s efimosfermin is the first billion-dollar-plus MASH deal in nearly nine years, but several other advanced MASH programs could be positioned for takeout.

AbbVie Pays $335m Up Front To Partner With ADARx On siRNA Therapeutics

 
• By Mandy Jackson

ADARx CEO Zhen Li told Scrip the collaborators will advance novel siRNA medicines, but ADARx retains its clinical-stage and many preclinical programs and remains open to more deals.

Bluebird, Private Equity Firms Look To Sweeten Buyout Deal

 
• By Alaric DeArment

Shareholders are being offered a flat fee of $5 per share as an alternative to $3 plus a contingent value right, which could be a more attractive option if they want cash up front.

Novo Nordisk Looks To Septerna For Oral Obesity Options

 
• By Mary Jo Laffler

Deal Snapshot: The Danish drugmaker is partnering with GPCR drug discovery expert Septerna to develop multiple small molecules for cardiometabolic targets.

More from Business

Merck KGaA Braces For Volatility But Does Not Expect Europe To Budge On Pricing

 
• By Andrew McConaghie

Shares are hit as German conglomerate lowers revenue forecast.

Leo Roars To A Profit In Q1 As Adbry Grows In US

 
• By Kevin Grogan

The Danish firm's atopic dermatitis drug is holding its own despite strong competition from Sanofi/Regeneron’s Dupixent.

Cipla Leadership’s Early Take On Trump’s Pricing EO And Pipeline Progress

 
• By Anju Ghangurde

Cipla's CEO underlines that US generic prices are already “very significantly comparable” with the rest of the world and expects President Donald Trump's executive order on drug pricing to primarily impact branded pharmaceuticals. The company also shared updates on its US pipeline.