Gilead Doubles Down on CAR T With $7.8B Arcellx Acquisition

 

The centerpiece of the takeover is anito-cel, a CAR T therapy under development for relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma. An FDA decision on the therapy is expected by December 2026.

Just days after CEO Daniel O’Day told investors M&A was not an urgent priority for the pharma, Gilead is dropping $7.8 billion to swallow its CAR T partner Arcellx ahead of a potential approval later this year.

Gilead’s offer values Arcellx at $115 per share, a 68% premium on the biotech’s volume-weighted average share price over the last 30 days, according to Gilead’s Monday announcement. The pharma has also tacked on a one-time nontransferable contingent value right that entitles Arcellx shareholders to $5 more per share that they hold, payable if a certain commercial milestone is hit.

The companies expect to close the transaction in the second quarter of this year.

At the heart of Monday’s agreement is anitocabtagene autoleucel, also called anito-cel, an investigational CAR T therapy that targets the BCMA protein to treat relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma. The drug is currently under FDA review with a target action date of Dec. 23, 2026, Gilead said on Monday.

Data from the pivotal Phase 2 iMMagine-1 study support the drug’s regulatory run. Results released in May 2025 demonstrated a 97% overall response rate, with complete response or stringent complete response reaching 68%. Progression-free and overall survival rates at six months were 91.9% and 96.6%, respectively.

Gilead and Arcellx are also running the Phase 3 iMMagine-3 study, pitting anito-cel against standard of care, including pomalidomide, bortezomib and dexamethasone. The trial, which aims to enroll 450 patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma who have undergone one to three prior lines of therapy, has a primary completion date of July 2028.

The companies first linked up in December 2022, with the pharma through its Kite subsidiary fronting $225 million and making a $100 million equity investment into Arcellx. The agreement, which centered on anito-cel, also included a pledge of up to $3.9 billion in milestones.

After almost a year, Gilead in November 2023 deepened its commitment to Arcellx for an additional $85 million in cash and $200 million in equity investments, plus the promise of unspecified milestones.

Monday’s Arcellx acquisition follows a similarly hefty cell therapy contract in October 2025, when Gilead partnered with China’s Pregene for $120 million upfront and up to $1.52 billion in milestones. Then, in January, the pharma put $300 million on the line to collaborate with Texas-based OncoNano Medicine on developing novel cancer drugs.

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