NEW YORK – Gilead Sciences subsidiary Kite said on Tuesday it will acquire the CAR T-cell therapy biotech Tmunity Therapeutics.
Under the terms of the transaction, which is expected to close during the first quarter of 2023, Kite will acquire all outstanding shares of Tmunity, and Tmunity employees will join Kite. Tmunity's founders will also become senior advisers to Kite. Gilead did not disclose the deal's financial details.
In acquiring Tmunity, Gilead is gaining the firm's CAR T-cell therapy platform capabilities, including Tmunity's rapid CAR T-cell therapy manufacturing process and its "armored" platform meant to enhance CAR T-cell therapies' anti-tumor activity. Gilead is also bringing in house Tmunity's pipeline assets, with the exception of its prostate-specific membrane antigen and prostate stem cell antigen assets. Tmunity plans to separately spin off these programs into a new firm.
Gilead is also garnering Tmunity Therapeutics' existing deal with the University of Pennsylvania, which includes research funding and licensing options to cell engineering and manufacturing technologies. As part of the acquisition, the UPenn deal will extend to 2026, though the collaborators can extend it further.
"Kite has demonstrated an ability to globally scale cell therapy and address the unique challenges and opportunities that cell therapy represents, which are quite different in material ways than traditional pharmaceutical or biotech approaches," Tmunity Founder Carl June said in a statement. "Kite's singular focus on cell therapy makes them unique and particularly nimble."