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With the billion-dollar acquisition of the American cancer specialist Immunomedics, the American pharmaceutical company Gilead, known in our country as a partner of Galapagos, wants to further enhance its portfolio in the fast-growing field of oncology.
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The American company Gilead is acquiring the American Immunomedics for 21 billion dollars, the pharmaceutical company reports in a communiqué. The two companies, both listed on the US Nasdaq, aim to complete the deal in the last quarter.
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Gilead rings a bell with us as a partner of the Mechelen biotech company Galapagos. In the summer of 2019, the American pharmaceutical company closed a 4.5 billion euros deal with Galapagos for access rights and exclusivity on all major medicines that the Mechelen biotech company is developing.
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Rapidly growing oncology
Immunomedics, headquartered in New Jersey, has recently emerged as a coveted ‘big pharma’ bride, since its breast cancer drug Trodelvy was given the green light by the US drug watchdog FDA in April. The share price has already more than doubled this year.
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Gilead coughs up more than double the market value of Immunomedics, which is approximately $ 10 billion, ahead of the acquisition. It pays $ 88 per share in cash for Immunomedics, whose shares closed Friday at $ 42.25. Gilead thus puts a premium of 108 percent on the table.
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The multi-billion dollar deal should help Gilead ramp up its efforts to diversify into oncology, said CEO Daniel O’Day. “It allows us to accelerate the work of the past few years to develop a franchise and portfolio in cancer,” said the CEO. ‘Trodelvy is a product we can build on.’
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Breast cancer treatment
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Breast cancer treatment is one of the most lucrative segments of the global oncology treatment market. EvaluatePharma estimates the value at $ 157 billion this year. Advances in understanding the condition open new doors for biopharmaceutical companies to develop treatments that can also be marketed at expensive prices.
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Trodelvy is one of the most promising cancer treatments, which has already yielded promising results for the treatment of lung cancer, among other things. The therapy could eventually generate annual sales of $ 3-5 billion if it proves to be a safe treatment for other cancers, according to the Jefferies brokerage house.
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More than 13 acquisitions in 2 years
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Gilead is not up to its test piece, having made more than 13 acquisitions in the field of oncology in the past two years. Earlier this year, it paid about $ 5 billion for biotech company Forty Seven and a drug to treat blood cancer, and bought Kite Pharma for $ 12 billion in 2017.
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By expanding his oncology portfolio, CEO Daniel O’Day, who became Gilead CEO in March last year, aims to overcome declining sales in hepatitis C drugs and the competition around his HIV franchise. Gilead is now also making a name for itself with remdesivir in the fight against the coronavirus, the first virus inhibitor approved for the treatment of Covid-19.
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