If the name seems familiar, you might remember Chao as one of the names behind Forty Seven, an immuno-oncology biotech that caught Gilead’s eye a few years back — and ultimately its wallet, when the biotech got bought out by the pharma for $4.9 billion in 2020. Chao then came on board with Gilead as a VP of oncology before leaving to get on board with the new biotech.
Gilead’s $4.9 billion bet on Forty Seven has run into a delay. Weeks after Takeda’s rival drug flunked a pivotal trial, Gilead has pushed back the release of data from a phase 1b study designed to support accelerated approval.
We now know the full, early-stage story behind the drug that inspired Gilead CEO Dan O’Day’s recent $5 billion acquisition of Forty Seven.
Acceleron Pharma Inc. (Nasdaq: XLRN), a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery, development, and commercialization of TGF-beta superfamily therapeutics to treat serious and rare diseases, today announced that research published in the journal Science Translational Medicine describes how a murine version of the investigational agent sotatercept acts to restore balance in key signaling pathways whose disruption drives the disease pathology of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH).
Gilead’s $4.9 billion buyout of Forty Seven, announced in early March, landed in a different era before the pandemic consumed biopharma news. But even amid all the buzz around its potential Covid-19 treatment remdesivir, CEO Daniel O’Day is still making clear that oncology is where he wants to take the company.
FOSTER CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apr. 7, 2020-- Gilead Sciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: GILD) today announced the completion of the previously announced transaction for Toro Merger Sub, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Gilead (“Purchaser”), to acquire Forty Seven, Inc. (Nasdaq: FTSV) for $95.50 per share, net to the seller in cash, without interest, or approximately $4.9 billion in the aggregate.
Gilead buys cancer specialist Forty Seven in $4.9B deal