‘Disadvantaged’ Gilead flipped partner negotiations into M&A discussion ahead of $4.9B Forty Seven deal

As four companies negotiated for partnerships with Forty Seven around its lead asset, magrolimab, Gilead’s relative commercial weakness in cancer appeared to inspire the company to seek an M&A deal instead, leading to the eventual $4.9 billion offer that Forty Seven accepted early last week.

Forty Seven Inc. (NASDAQ:FTSV) CEO Mark McCamish told BioCentury on Wednesday that Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) may have been “disadvantaged” compared with other parties working to complete a deal. Instead, Gilead was the first to propose an acquisition -- although it wound up paying far more than its original offer...