DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) has agreed to buy privately held
drug developer CGI Pharmaceuticals Inc. for up to $120 million as
the drug maker looks to expand into areas such as inflammatory
diseases.
Chief Scientific Officer Norbert Bischofberger said the deal
"represents a unique opportunity to expand our research efforts in
an interesting and promising area of drug discovery." Gilead is
known for its HIV treatments and discovering Tamiflu, which it
licensed to Roche Holding AG (RHHBY).
The deal comes as a host of drug makers have been making
licensing pacts with drug developers in hopes of bolstering their
pipelines. Gilead will pay the majority upfront with cash on hand
and the rest of payment will depend on clinical development
progress.
CGI has been focused on developing preclinical compounds that
could have potential to treat serious inflammatory diseases,
including rheumatoid arthritis.
Gilead in April said its first-quarter profit surged 45% on
strong sales of its HIV drugs as well as a jump in royalties from
flu-treatment Tamiflu because of worldwide initiatives to plan for
a possible influenza pandemic.
Shares closed at $35.72 Thursday and didn't trade premarket. The
stock has fallen 18% this year.
-By Jodi Xu, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-3037;
jodi.xu@dowjones.com