Gilead Sciences Inc. Buys Santa Monica-Based Kite Pharma Inc. For $11.9 Billion

SANTA MONICA, CA – Santa Monica-based biotech firm Kite Pharma Inc. has been acquired by Gilead Sciences Inc., the companies announced Monday. Gilead, which is based in North Carolina, will acquire Kite for $180 per share in cash, valuing Kite at about $11.9 billion. The transaction was unanimously approved by both the Gilead and Kite boards of directors and is anticipated to close in the fourth quarter.

Kite specializes in the emerging field of cell therapy in which a patient's own immune cells are used to fight cancer, focusing on chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) and T cell receptor (TCR) engineered cell therapies designed to empower the immune system's ability to recognize and kill tumors.

Its most advanced cell therapy candidate, axicabtagene ciloleucel (axi-cel), is currently under priority review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as a treatment for refractory aggressive non- Hodgkin lymphoma, which includes diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, transformed follicular lymphoma and primary mediastinal B-cell lymphoma.

Kite has additional candidates in clinical trials in both hematologic cancers and solid tumors.

"The acquisition of Kite establishes Gilead as a leader in cellular therapy and provides a foundation from which to drive continued innovation for people with advanced cancers," said John F. Milligan, Gilead's president and CEO.

"The field of cell therapy has advanced very quickly, to the point where the science and technology have opened a clear path toward a potential cure for patients," he said. "We are greatly impressed with the Kite team and what they have accomplished, and share their belief that cell therapy will be the cornerstone of treating cancer. Our similar cultures and histories of driving rapid innovation in order to bring more effective and safer products to as many patients as possible make this an excellent strategic fit."

Research and development as well as the commercialization operations for Kite will remain based in Santa Monica, with product manufacturing remaining in El Segundo.

"CAR T has the potential to become one of the most powerful anti-cancer agents for hematologic cancers," said Dr. Arie Belldegrun, chairman, president and CEO of Kite. "With Gilead's expertise and support, we hope to fulfill that potential by rapidly accelerating our robust pipeline and next- generation research and manufacturing technologies for the benefit of patients around the world."

City News Service and Patch Staffer Emily Holland contributed to this post; Image via Shutterstock