Gilead completes Arcellx buy, securing myeloma treatment anito-cel
Acquisition gives Gilead’s Kite full control of CAR T-cell therapy
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Gilead said it has completed its $7.8 billion acquisition of Arcellx, a deal the company hopes will allow it to streamline and accelerate the development of experimental myeloma treatment anito-cel (anitocabtagene autoleucel).
Arcellx has been collaborating with Gilead subsidiary Kite Pharma to develop the cell therapy. Gilead said the acquisition brings the therapy’s developers under a single corporate umbrella, eliminating the need to coordinate between companies.
“With the Arcellx acquisition, our focus turns to executing with speed and discipline as we prepare to bring anito‑cel to patients,” Cindy Perettie, executive vice president and global head of Kite, said in a press release from Gilead.
Myeloma is a type of blood cancer marked by the uncontrolled growth of plasma cells, a type of immune cell. Anito-cel is a CAR T-cell therapy, a type of anticancer treatment that works by harnessing the deadly capabilities of cancer-killing immune cells called T-cells.
With anito-cel, a patient’s T-cells are collected and taken to a lab to equip them with a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR), a human-made protein that directs the cells to attack a particular molecular target. Anito-cel uses a CAR that targets the BCMA protein, which is expressed by myeloma cells. Following a short round of chemotherapy to wipe out existing immune cells, the engineered cells are infused into the patient’s body to go after the cancer.
Phase 3 study recruiting
The CAR used in anito-cel features a molecular motif called the D-domain. Data have shown this structural change may help limit side effects associated with CAR therapies.
A Phase 2 study called iMMagine-1 (NCT05396885) tested anito-cel in more than 100 people with hard-to-treat myeloma. Results showed that most patients were alive and free of disease progression two years after a single treatment with the cell therapy.
Kite is sponsoring a Phase 3 study called iMMagine-3 (NCT06413498), which aims to test anito-cel against standard therapies in people with myeloma who have failed to respond or have relapsed after one to three previous lines of therapy. The study is recruiting participants at sites in the U.S., Europe, Canada, Japan, and Australia.
“With this acquisition, anito‑cel and the differentiated D‑Domain BCMA binder will advance within Kite, combining this science with our global manufacturing, regulatory and commercial capabilities to unlock the full value of this potentially transformative therapy for people living with multiple myeloma,” Perettie said.
