$21 billion! Gilead acquires Next Generation Antibody Drug Concedes (ADC) developer Immunomedics!

September 14, 2020 // -- Gilead Sciences and Immunomedics recently jointly announced that they have reached a final agreement.
agreement, Gilead will buy Immunomedics for $88.00 a share in cash, worth about $21 billion.
the deal has been unanimously approved by Gilead and Theimomedics board and is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2020.
terms of the merger agreement, a wholly owned subsidiary of Gilead will immediately begin offering to acquire all of Immunomedics' issued common stock.
price of $88.00 per share, a 108 per cent premium to Immunomedics' closing price on September 11, 2020.
the successful completion of the offer, Gilead will acquire all remaining shares in the offer that were not tendered at the same price as the offer through a second merger.
offer, which is not subject to financing conditions, will be funded with about $15 billion in cash on hand and about $6 billion in newly issued debt.
Gilead wants to maintain an investment grade credit rating after this transaction, and this agreement does not change Gilead's stated capital allocation strategy or its commitment to maintain and grow its dividend over time.
the deal will bring Gilead a pioneering Trup-2 targeted antibody drug, ADC's Trodelvy (ADC), which was approved by the FDA in April to treat adult patients with metastasis triple negative breast cancer (mTNBC) who have received at least two treatments for metastasis.
Immunomedics plans to file a Supplemental Biologics Licensing Application (SBLA) with the FDA in the fourth quarter of 2020 to support Trodelvy's full approval in the United States.
also plans to submit a Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) in the EU in the first half of 2021.
July, the validative Phase 3 ASCENT study evaluating Trodelvy's treatment mTNBC was terminated early because of its particularly significant efficacy, as unanimously recommended by the Independent Data Security Monitoring Board (IDSMC).
, Trodelvy significantly extended progress-free survival (PFS) and total lifetime (OS) compared to chemotherapy in patients with advanced mTNBC who had previously received treatment, according to the data.
results of the study will be presented at the upcoming European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) 2020 virtual conference.
addition to mTNBC, Trodelvy is evaluating phase 3 clinical studies for third-line treatment of HR plus/HER2-breast cancer, and phase 2 clinical studies for bladder cancer registration.
other ongoing studies are evaluating Trodelvy's therapeutic potential as a non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and other solid tumors.
currently, Immunomedics and independent researchers are conducting research to evaluate Trodelvy as a single-drug therapy, as well as in combination with checkpoint inhibitors and other non-immuno-oncology products.
more clinical data on Trodelvy's treatment of bladder cancer and other solid tumors will also be published in ESMO this week.
O'Day, chairman and chief executive of Gilead Sciences, said: "This acquisition represents significant progress in building Gilead's strong and diversified oncology portfolio.
Trodelvy is a approved, transformative drug used to treat metastasis triple negative breast cancer (mTNBC), a particularly difficult type of cancer.
we will now continue to explore its potential in treating many other types of cancer, including as a monotherapy and in combination with other therapies.
look forward to welcoming the talented Immunomedics team to Gilead so that we can continue to advance this important new drug for the benefit of cancer patients around the world. Dr Behzad Aghazadeh, Executive Chairman of
Immunomedics, said: "We are very pleased that Gilead has recognized the value of Trodelvy, a drug that has begun to play an important role in patients with metastasis triple negative breast cancer (mTNBC) and has the potential to help other cancer patients in the future.
are excited about the opportunities that are coming, because we will work with Gilead to advance our common mission to fight cancer.
working with Gilead, we have the opportunity to accelerate our progress and improve care for patients who need new treatments.
" (sic): Gilead Sciences to Acquire Immunomedics.