In a deal worth $7.8 billion, Gilead Sciences has entered a definitive agreement to acquire Arcellx, a biotech company developing a cell therapy for multiple myeloma.
Gilead announced the acquisition agreement a few months after Arcellx published positive data from its lead drug candidate’s phase 2 trial. In December, the biotech said its experimental cell therapy, anitocabtagene autoleucel (anito-cel), achieved a 95% minimal residual disease negativity rate.
Kite, a Gilead company, has an existing collaboration to codevelop and co-commercialize anito-cel, according to a Feb. 23 news release from Gilead.
Arcellx’s and Gilead’s respective boards of directors have approved the acquisition. The transaction is expected to close during the second quarter of 2025.
