Gilead Acquires Stake in Pionyr Immunotherapeutics

Gilead Sciences has exercised its option to acquire a 49.9 percent stake in Pionyr Immunotherapeutics Inc. for $275 million, and has an exclusive option to acquire the remainder of Pionyr. Pionyr’s shareholders may receive up to an additional $1.47 billion in option exercise fees and future milestone payments.

Pionyr’s Myeloid Tuning therapies have the potential to treat patients who currently do not benefit from checkpoint inhibitor therapies. PY314 and PY159 have demonstrated preclinical efficacy, suggesting potential in solid tumors in combination with established anti-PD(L)-1 agents. Pionyr plans to file IND applications with the U.S. FDA for both PY314 and PY159 in 3Q20.  

“Pionyr is pursuing promising, novel biology in the field of immuno-oncology,” said Daniel O’Day, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Gilead Sciences. “The agreement represents important progress as we continue to build out Gilead's presence in immuno-oncology with innovative and complementary approaches. We look forward to seeing the programs advance with the goal of developing new therapies that will improve the treatment of cancer.”

Steven P. James, President and Chief Executive Officer, Pionyr said, “PY314 and PY159 are first-in-class antibodies designed to remove or reprogram, respectively, the immune suppressive cells in the tumor microenvironment and thereby enhance anti-tumor immunity. We are grateful that Gilead has acknowledged the promise of this transformational approach to potentially benefit patients across a range of solid tumors.”