BioCentury
ARTICLE | Deals

Bischofberger revisits Gilead castoff to pad Kronos’ pipeline of transcription modulators

Kronos buys Gilead’s portfolio of SYK inhibitors, carrying the preclinical cancer play to the cusp of Phase III

July 17, 2020 1:45 AM UTC

New biomarker data for a clinical cancer therapy discontinued by Gilead prompted Kronos President and CEO Norbert Bischofberger to close a deal with his old company to bring the IP in-house to Kronos. The acquisition transforms Kronos from a company on the cusp of entering the clinic to one with a Phase III-ready asset while further cementing its focus on the transcription network.

Kronos Bio Inc. purchased the entire patent portfolio of SYK inhibitors from Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) for an undisclosed upfront cash payment. The deal gives the biotech two clinical programs: entospletinib, which was tested in hematologic malignancies, and lanraplenib, which had been evaluated for autoimmune diseases. ...