By Colin Kellaher


Gilead Sciences has agreed to buy German clinical-stage biotechnology company Tubulis for up to $5 billion in a deal that bolsters the biopharmaceutical company's oncology pipeline.

Gilead on Tuesday said it will pay an initial $3.15 billion in cash for Tubulis, which is developing next-generation antibody-drug conjugates, or ADCs, along with up to $1.85 billion in contingent milestone payments.

Gilead said TUB-040, Tubulis' lead asset, is an ADC in Phase 1b/2 development for platinum-resistant ovarian cancer and non-small cell lung cancer.

The Foster City, Calif., company said the deal also includes TUB-030, an ADC that has shown promising initial clinical data across various solid tumor types.

ADCs work like guided missiles by pairing antibodies with toxic agents and helping deliver chemotherapy directly to tumors. Gilead and Tubulis inked an exclusive option and license agreement in 2024 aimed at discovering and developing an ADC against a solid tumor target.

Gilead's deal to buy Tubulis adds to a recent spate of small and midsize pharma acquisitions that have become a sweet spot for companies seeking to bolster the work of their own labs or lineups.

Deals between $1 billion and $10 billion accounted for about three-quarters of pharmaceutical transactions in the first three months of the year, reflecting a more tightfisted approach to dealmaking than previous periods, when big companies regularly shelled out tens of billions of dollars.

Last week, Eli Lilly said it would buy sleep drugmaker Centessa Pharmaceuticals for an initial $6.3 billion, while Biogen agreed to pay $5.6 billion upfront for rare- and immune-disease drugmaker Apellis.

Gilead in February agreed to buy the rest of Arcellx, its partner in developing a potential CAR T-cell therapy for patients with the blood cancer multiple myeloma, in a deal that values the biotech company at about $7.8 billion at closing, and the company last month said it would pay up to about $2.2 billion for Ouro Medicines, a developer of autoimmune-disease therapies.

Gilead said it plans to fund the Tubulis acquisition, slated to close in the second quarter, with cash on hand and senior unsecured notes.


-Peter Loftus and Xavier Martinez contributed to this article.


Write to Colin Kellaher at colin.kellaher@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

04-07-26 1024ET