Gilead Sciences has picked up a new inflammatory disease program from China’s PepStar Therapeutics to pair with the Phase 2 inflammatory bowel disease asset emvistegrast.
Gilead Sciences has gone shopping in IL-23, paying $1.3 billion to privately held Chinese biotech PepStar Therapeutics for a new inflammatory disease program.
The deal will add to Gilead’s warehouse HCXT-2001, an oral macrocyclic peptide inhibitor of IL-23R. The target has been clinically validated in immune-mediated conditions such as inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), but Gilead hopes it will have a future in psoriasis as well.
“HCXT-2001 adds a potentially differentiated oral approach to our growing inflammation pipeline, reflecting our commitment to addressing significant unmet patient needs,” said Gilead Chief Medical Officer Dietmar Berger in a Friday morning statement. “We see potential for HCXT-2001 alone or in combination, including with emvistegrast, as a daily oral treatment for people living with IBD.”
Gilead’s leadership has been seeking to diversify the business beyond its HIV portfolio, particularly in immunology and inflammatory (I&I). Emvistegrast has been key to that strategy.
Emvistegrast is currently in in multiple clinical trials for inflammatory diseases, with a Phase 2 readout in ulcerative colitis earlier this week that analysts said validates Gilead’s I&I push, with the asset showing higher response rates than placebo. Gilead pledged to take emvistegrast into Phase 2 thanks to the clinical win, and now the program has a new partner.
Gilead will pick up PepStar’s IL-23R inhibitor program, which includes HCXT-2001, for $1.3 billion in upfront cash. The deal is set to close by the end of the quarter.
Pharmas like Gilead have been finding myriad deals in China, but the deals are typically licensing transactions rather than outright acquisitions. Last week, China moved to restrict the transfer of ownership for certain biotechnologies. The U.S. similarly took steps today to restrict foreign and U.S. investments in China.
