Gilead And Lakefront Acquire Ouro Medicines In $1.67 Bln Agreement; To Co-Develop Gamgertamig

(RTTNews) - Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD), a biopharmaceutical company, and Lakefront Biotherapeutics NV (LKFT), a biotechnology company, on Friday announced completing an acquisition of Ouro Medicines, and gaining a new portfolio of T-cell engager therapies to treat autoimmune diseases. According to the terms of the agreement, Gilead will acquire all outstanding equity of Ouro, amounting to $1.675 billion, and up to $500 million in milestone payments, with the upfront and milestone payments to be split between both Gilead and Lakefront. The companies will acquire Ouro's lead asset of Gamgertamig (OM336), a clinical-stage BCMAxCD3 T-cell engager enabling rapid plasma and B-cell depletion to treat autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA) and immune thrombocytopenia (ITP). The drug previously received Fast Track and Orphan Drug designation from the FDA. With the deal, Lakefront acquired the operational assets of Ouro, and will advance ongoing and future Phase 1/2 development of gamgertamig. Gilead gains responsibility for registrational and later-stage studies, retaining sole commercialization rights for the drug. Accordingly, Lakefront is eligible to receive tired royalties of 20%-23% on net sales of gamgertamig from Gilead. The companies previously signed a licensing agreement in 2019 to enable deployment of at least $500 million to Lakefront from Gilead. The Ouro transaction provides relief from this agreement, as Lakefront acquires a preclinical portfolio of three additional autoimmune focused programs, and may split profits from these with Gilead, amounting to up to $75 million per program. The acquisition will contribute to Lakefront's cash balance, which is estimated to reach $2 billion by the year end. GILD closed Thursday at $129.18, up 0.15%. In the pre-market, shares are trading at $129.10, down 0.06%. LKFT closed Thursday at $28.11, up 2.18%. The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.