Gilead's cancer encore

Gilead Sciences Inc.'s initial dalliance with cancer ended in 2001 when it sold its portfolio of liposomal chemotherapeutics. A decade later, the company is jumping back in, this time by acquiring companies with targeted therapies against novel targets.

Gilead is not detailing its strategy, but all three deals involve programs that address both inflammation and oncology, and appear to include compounds that could be paired in combination regimens...