Gilead Sciences to Buy Ouro Medicines, Collaborate With Galapagos on Purchased Assets -- Update

By Kelly Cloonan

Gilead Sciences plans to acquire Ouro Medicines, a developer of autoimmune-disease therapies, for up to about $2.18 billion and develop the assets from the deal in a collaboration with Galapagos.

Under the terms of the deal, Gilead would buy all of the outstanding equity of Ouro for about $1.68 billion in cash upfront, which is payable at closing, and up to $500 million in contingent milestone payments.

Gilead also said it is in talks with Galapagos for a potential research-and-development collaboration for the assets it plans to purchase from Ouro.

Under the partnership, Galapagos would pay half of the upfront consideration and half of any contingent milestone payments for Ouro, and would absorb substantially all of Ouro's operating assets and employees. Gilead owns a roughly 25% stake in Galapagos, and has an agreement with the biotechnology company that grants access to its drug-discovery platform.

Gilead said the deal with Ouro would bolster its growing inflammation portfolio, adding gamgertamig, which has demonstrated efficacy after a single treatment cycle in severe antibody-mediated orphan diseases including autoimmune hemolytic anemia and immune thrombocytopenia in continuing Phase 1/2 clinical studies.

Gamgertamig was granted Fast Track and Orphan Drug Designation by the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of both diseases, and is expected to enter registrational studies in 2027, Gilead said.

Gilead and Galapagos would collaborate on the development of gamgertamig, sharing registrational study costs while Galapagos would be responsible for development costs. Gilead would retain most worldwide commercialization rights, and pay Galapagos royalties of 20% to 23% of net sales.

Additionally, an initial amount of $500 million of Galapagos' cash would be exempted from the terms of Galapagos and Gilead's option, license and collaboration agreement from 2019. The exemption would permit Galapagos to use those funds to acquire, initiate or develop research programs independently from Gilead, Galapagos said.

"This acquisition underscores our commitment to advancing transformative therapies for people living with serious autoimmune diseases," Gilead Chief Medical Officer Dietmar Berger said.

Write to Kelly Cloonan at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

03-23-26 1947ET