Gildea's Kite Pharma Just Acquired Interius—$350 Million Move Shakes Up Cancer Therapy

As biotechnology companies increasingly seek innovative approaches to enhance cancer treatment, strategic acquisitions are becoming a key pathway for expanding capabilities and integrating advanced therapeutic platforms. Kite Pharma, a Gilead Sciences Inc. company (NASDAQ:GILD) on Thursday agreed to acquire Interius BioTherapeutics, a privately held biotechnology company developing in vivo CAR therapeutics, for $350 million.

The acquisition complements Kite’s expertise in cell therapy by incorporating Interius’s in vivo platform.

The transaction with Interius is expected to reduce Gilead’s GAAP and non-GAAP 2025 earnings per share by approximately 23 cents to 25 cents.

Gilead Sciences raised fiscal 2025 adjusted earnings guidance from $7.70-$8.10 per share to $7.95-$8.25, compared to the consensus of $7.96.

The approach enables the generation of CAR T-cells directly within the patient’s body. It may offer a more durable and long-lasting therapeutic effect by inserting DNA into the patient’s genome.

Also Read: Walgreens Grows Specialty Pharmacy Network To Meet Rising Demand For Complex Therapies

Unlike traditional CAR T therapies that require cell harvesting, engineering, and reinfusion, Interius’s off-the-shelf yet personalized approach is designed to be delivered via a single intravenous infusion, eliminating the need for preconditioning chemotherapy and complex cell processing.

“This marks a pivotal step for Interius and the future of in vivo therapy, which has the potential to reduce treatment timelines, broaden access to care and improve outcomes for patients with aggressive or advanced disease,” said Phil Johnson, President and CEO, Interius BioTherapeutics.

In June, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) eliminated the Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies (REMS) for currently approved BCMA- and CD19-directed autologous chimeric antigen receptor CAR T cell immunotherapies. 

These products are gene therapies currently approved to treat blood cancers, such as multiple myeloma and certain types of leukemia and lymphoma.

The FDA determined that the approved REMS for the following products should be eliminated because a REMS is no longer necessary to ensure that the benefits of the autologous CAR T cell immunotherapies outweigh their risks. 

The products affected by this change included Gilead’s Yescarta (axicabtagene ciloleucel) and Tecartus (brexucabtagene autoleucel).

Earlier on Thursday, CVS Health Inc. (NYSE:CVS) said it will not add Gilead’s new HIV prevention drug Yeztugo to its commercial plans.

The company also confirmed the drug will not be included in its Affordable Care Act formularies, since its preventive program follows mandates from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

GILD Price Action: Gilead Sciences shares were down 0.99% at $117.56 at the time of publication on Thursday, according to Benzinga Pro data.

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