Is Forty Seven on Gilead’s ‘urgent’ shopping list?

While Gilead declined to comment on a report that it is looking to buy cancer company Forty Seven, talk of a potential bolt-on deal has given the cancer company another jolt in a three-month run that has seen its stock rise 10-fold over its 2019 low.

The Bloomberg report, which cited undisclosed sources, comes three weeks after Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) CEO Daniel O’Day said there is a “sense of urgency” to build out the company’s pipeline and highlighted immuno-oncology, and non-cell therapies in particular, as a dealmaking area of interest. O’Day said Gilead is interested in small- to medium-sized bolt-on acquisitions as well as “transformative partnerships” like its deal with Galapagos N.V. (Euronext:GLPG; NASDAQ:GLPG). The comments came on a call to discuss the company’s 4Q19 earnings report (see “Gilead Signals ‘Urgency’ for M&A”)...