BioCentury
ARTICLE | Company News

Gilead adds targeted degradation via Nurix deal in quest to strengthen growth areas

June 19, 2019 11:12 PM UTC

Just three months after Daniel O'Day took the helm, Gilead has pulled the trigger on adding targeted protein degradation to its modality tool kit in areas it has tagged as growth drivers. Wednesday’s announcement of a deal with Nurix came after Gilead had seen enough preclinical validation for the therapeutic class and found a partner it thinks provides more options for tissue-specific degradation than competitors, Gilead SVP of Biology Linda Higgins told BioCentury.

Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) partnered with Nurix Therapeutics Inc. (San Francisco, Calif.) to identify targeted protein degraders, with an option to license programs for up to five targets in cancer and other diseases. Nurix received $45 million up front and is eligible for $2.3 billion in milestones, plus up to low double-digit tiered royalties. It also retains an option to co-develop and co-detail two of those programs in the U.S...