BY Richard Summerfield
In a move set to bolster its liver disease portfolio, Gilead Sciences has agreed to acquire CymaBay Therapeutics for $4.3bn.
Under the terms of the deal, CymaBay shareholders will receive $32.50 per share, a 26.5 percent premium to the company’s share price on Friday. The transaction was approved by the boards of both Gilead and CymaBay and is anticipated to close during the first quarter of 2024, subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.
The deal will give Gilead access to CymaBay’s investigational lead product candidate, seladelpar, which is used for the treatment of primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) including pruritus. This will complement Gilead’s existing liver portfolio and aligns with its commitment to bringing transformational medicines to patients.
“We are looking forward to advancing seladelpar by leveraging Gilead’s long-standing expertise in treating and curing liver diseases,” said Daniel O’Day, chairman and chief executive of Gilead Sciences. “Building on the strong research and development work by the CymaBay team to date, we have the potential to address a significant unmet need for people living with PBC and expand on our existing broad range of transformational therapies.”
“Today’s agreement with Gilead is the culmination of years of focus and determination at CymaBay to advance seladelpar and bring new hope to people living with PBC and their families,” said Sujal Shah, president and chief executive at CymaBay. “Now that seladelpar has achieved priority review with the FDA, we are excited that Gilead, with its long-standing commitment to patients with liver disease, can apply its regulatory and commercial expertise to bring seladelpar as quickly as possible to people with PBC.”
PBC is a rare, chronic, cholestatic liver disease mainly affecting women (one in 1000 women over the age of 40 or about 130,000 total people in the US) that impairs liver function and quality of life. Seladelpar is estimated to generate sales of $1.9bn by 2029, if approved, according to LSEG data. It is an investigational, oral, selective peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor delta agonist, shown to regulate critical metabolic and liver disease pathways.
CymaBay submitted a marketing application to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the drug in December. The FDA has completed its filing review, accepted a New Drug Application for seladelpar, and granted priority review with a Prescription Drug User Fee Act target action date of 14 August 2024.
News: Gilead to buy CymaBay for $4.3 bln in bets on liver disease treatment