34 Billion Yuan! Gilead Acquires Another ADC Project
On December 3, Gilead and Tubulis announced that they have entered into an exclusive option and licensing agreement for the discovery and development of an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) targeting solid tumors.
Under the agreement, Gilead will gain access to Tubulis's proprietary platforms, Tubutecan and Alco5. The two companies will collaborate to select the optimal technical approach, with Tubulis leading the discovery and development of an ADC candidate based on a topoisomerase I inhibitor. This candidate aims to offer superior biophysical properties and stability, addressing current challenges like insufficient durability and off-target toxicity.
According to the terms, Tubulis will receive an upfront payment of $20 million and an additional $30 million if Gilead exercises its option. Tubulis is also eligible for up to $415 million in development and commercialization milestone payments, as well as tiered royalties ranging from mid-single digits to low double digits on net sales of the commercialized products. The total potential value of the deal could reach $465 million (approximately 3.38 billion yuan). Tubulis will lead the early-stage development of the ADC project, while Gilead will take charge of further development and commercialization if it exercises the exclusive licensing option.
Tubulis's ADCs are notable for their unique compatibility and excellent biophysical properties, demonstrating durable tumor delivery and sustained anti-tumor activity in preclinical models. The company’s lead ADC candidate, TUB-040, which targets NaPi2b, is under clinical evaluation for ovarian cancer and non-small cell lung cancer. Tubulis's second candidate, TUB-030, targeting 5T4, is nearing its launch.
In March this year, Tubulis completed a $188 million Series B2 funding round to support the clinical development of next-generation ADCs, with a focus on validating its lead candidates, TUB-040 and TUB-030, in clinical settings.
Flavius Martin, MD, Executive Vice President of Research at Gilead Sciences, commented: "As we continue to expand our oncology portfolio to address the most critical gaps in treatment, gaining access to new technologies is essential for advancing our pipeline. Gilead remains focused on innovation in next-generation therapies and combinations, and we are excited to partner with Tubulis to explore solutions that could enhance the value of ADC-based treatments."
This is not Gilead's first major move in the ADC field. In September 2020, Gilead acquired Immunomedics, an antibody-drug company, for $21 billion—a deal with a 108% premium on its closing price. This acquisition granted Gilead the Trop2 ADC drug Trodelvy.
However, Trodelvy has faced setbacks. On October 18, 2024, after discussions with the FDA, Gilead announced the voluntary withdrawal of Trodelvy’s accelerated approval in the U.S. for treating adults with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial cancer who had previously received platinum-based chemotherapy and PD-1/PD-L1 antibody treatment. This followed disappointing results from the TROPiCS-04 Phase 3 trial in May 2024, which failed to meet its primary endpoint of overall survival (OS). Earlier in January 2024, the EVOKE-01 trial also failed to achieve its OS primary endpoint.
Since its acquisition, Trodelvy has faced two major setbacks, making the $21 billion investment appear far from recouped. Despite this, Gilead is investing heavily again in ADC development, showing its ambition to dominate the ADC space. Whether this collaboration with Tubulis will yield a blockbuster remains to be seen.