Gilead, Carna Biosciences in R&D Collaboration

Gilead Sciences and Carna Biosciences, a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of kinase inhibitor drugs, announced on June 24, 2019 that they have entered into a research and development collaboration to develop and commercialize small-molecule compounds in immuno-oncology in a deal worth up to $470 million.

Under the terms of the agreement, Gilead will license worldwide rights to develop and commercialize inhibitors against an undisclosed immuno-oncology target from Carna. Carna will receive an upfront payment of $20 million and is eligible to receive up to an additional $450 million in potential milestone payments upon achievement of certain development and commercial milestones. Carna will also receive royalties on future net sales.

Under the collaboration, Gilead will also have exclusive access to Carna’s proprietary lipid kinase drug discovery platform.

"We are delighted to partner with Gilead on our immuno-oncology pipeline targeting the lipid signaling pathway, as we believe modulators of lipid signaling have the potential to become the next generation of cancer immunotherapies,” said Masaaki Sawa, PhD, chief scientific officer and head of research and development at Carna Biosciences, in a company press release.

“Gilead is committed to building a pipeline in immuno-oncology with a focus on opportunities with the potential to be first-in-class or to be meaningfully differentiated from other therapeutic options,” said John McHutchison, AO, MD, chief scientific officer and head of research and development at Gilead Sciences, in the release. “Our Carna collaboration also reflects this strategy and we look forward to working with the Carna team to advance novel immunotherapies into clinical testing for the potential benefit of patients.”

Source: Gilead Sciences