Gilead Sciences and Goldfinch Bio Announce Strategic Collaboration to Develop Novel Therapies for Kidney Disease
May 08 2019 - 7:00AM
Business Wire
-- Companies to Pursue a Human Genetics
Approach to Drug Discovery and Development --
Gilead Sciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: GILD) and Goldfinch
Bio, Inc., a biotechnology company focused on developing precision
therapies for patients with kidney diseases, today announced a
strategic collaboration to discover, develop and commercialize a
pipeline of innovative therapeutics for diabetic kidney disease
(DKD) and certain orphan kidney diseases.
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Under the multi-year collaboration, Gilead has exclusive options
to license worldwide rights to certain products directed toward
targets emerging from Goldfinch’s proprietary Kidney Genome Atlas™
(KGA), a comprehensive registry of patients with kidney diseases
integrating genomic, transcriptomic and proteomic data with patient
clinical profiles. In addition, Goldfinch will apply its biology
platform of human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived kidney
cells and kidney organoids to validate targets and support
discovery and development of products to which Gilead will have
exclusive option rights.
Through sequencing the DNA of a large cohort of diabetic
patients with and without kidney disease, Goldfinch will expand the
scope of the KGA beyond orphan kidney diseases to include DKD. In
addition to target identification and validation, Goldfinch will
lead discovery and development activities prior to exercise of
exclusive option rights by Gilead, at which time Gilead will be
responsible for the development and commercialization of optioned
products. Goldfinch retains the option to lead development and
co-promote optioned products directed to specific kidney disease
targets. The collaboration does not include Goldfinch’s existing
programs, GFB-887 and GFB-024, for which Goldfinch will retain all
rights.
“We are excited to partner with Gilead Sciences, a
biopharmaceutical company known for its science-driven innovation
and productivity,” said Tony Johnson, MD, Goldfinch’s
President and Chief Executive Officer. “There is significant unmet
need to improve health outcomes for patients with kidney diseases.
This partnership will leverage Goldfinch’s KGA platform to identify
new therapeutic targets and Gilead’s proven track record of
efficiently advancing life-saving therapies for patients.”
“Goldfinch has established unique genetic and biology platforms
that will allow for the identification and validation of novel
targets for kidney disease and for the discovery and development of
novel compounds,” said John McHutchison, AO, MD, Chief
Scientific Officer and Head of Research and Development at Gilead
Sciences. “We look forward to partnering with our research
collaborators at Goldfinch, as we seek to advance novel treatment
options for people living with DKD and other serious kidney
diseases.”
Under the terms of the agreement, Goldfinch will receive $55
million in upfront payments, which includes a $5 million equity
investment, and an additional $54 million to support the
development of the KGA platform for DKD. Goldfinch is also eligible
to receive up to $1.95 billion in potential payments for the
first five collaboration programs based on the successful
achievement of research, development, regulatory and commercial
milestones, and tiered royalties on sales of potential products
originating from the collaboration. Additionally, Goldfinch retains
the option to equally share in U.S. profits for certain optioned
products in certain pre-defined kidney indications. Development
costs for profit share products will be shared among the two
parties in a manner commensurate with product rights.
About Diabetic Kidney
Disease
Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) develops in approximately 30-40
percent of patients who have diabetes and is a leading cause of
end-stage kidney disease, cardiovascular disease and early
mortality worldwide. Despite current therapies, the number of
people with DKD continues to increase, highlighting the need for
additional treatments that preserve kidney function.
About Gilead
Sciences
Gilead Sciences, Inc. is a research-based biopharmaceutical
company that discovers, develops and commercializes innovative
medicines in areas of unmet medical need. The company strives to
transform and simplify care for people with life-threatening
illnesses around the world. Gilead has operations in more than 35
countries worldwide, with headquarters in Foster
City, California. For more information on Gilead
Sciences, please visit the company’s website
at www.gilead.com.
About Goldfinch Bio
Goldfinch Bio is a biotechnology company that is singularly
focused on discovering and developing precision therapies for
patients with kidney diseases. Just as the goldfinch has long been
a symbol of healing and renewal and was a prominent figure of the
Renaissance, Goldfinch Bio is leading a new age of therapeutic
discovery to transform the treatment paradigm for patients with
kidney diseases. Goldfinch was launched in 2016 by Third Rock
Ventures, and is headquartered in Cambridge, Mass. For more
information, please visit www.goldfinchbio.com.
Gilead Forward-Looking
Statements
This press release includes forward-looking statements within
the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995
that are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors,
including the risk that the parties may not realize the potential
benefits of this collaboration, and Gilead may fail to discover,
develop and commercialize any product candidates for the treatment
of diabetic kidney disease and other kidney diseases. All
statements other than statements of historical fact are statements
that could be deemed forward-looking statements. These risks,
uncertainties and other factors could cause actual results to
differ materially from those referred to in the forward-looking
statements. The reader is cautioned not to rely on these
forward-looking statements. These and other risks are described in
detail in Gilead’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter
ended March 31, 2019, as filed with the U.S. Securities
and Exchange Commission. All forward-looking statements are based
on information currently available to Gilead, and Gilead assumes no
obligation to update any such forward-looking statements.
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Gilead Contacts:
Sung Lee, Investors(650) 524-7792
Nathan Kaiser, Media(650) 522-1853
Goldfinch Contacts:
Michael Broxson,
Investors617-337-4200mbroxson@goldfinchbio.com
Gina Nugent, Media617-460-3579gina@theyatesnetwork.com
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