Kite to Acquire Interius BioTherapeutics to Advance In Vivo Platform
Kite, a Gilead Company (NASDAQ:GILD), today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Interius BioTherapeutics, a privately held biotechnology company developing in vivo CAR therapeutics, for $350 million.
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This acquisition complements Kite's expertise in cell therapy by incorporating Interius's integrating in vivo platform. This approach enables the generation of CAR T-cells directly within the patient's body and may offer a more durable and long-lasting therapeutic effect by inserting DNA into the patient's genome. Unlike traditional CAR T therapies that require cell harvesting, engineering and reinfusion, Interius's innovative, off-the-shelf yet personalized approach is designed to be delivered via a single intravenous infusion, eliminating the need for preconditioning chemotherapy and complex cell processing.
"In vivo therapy is a promising frontier with the potential to transform how we approach treating patients, shifting to more accessible and scalable solutions," said Cindy Perettie, Executive Vice President of Kite. "By combining Interius's teams and their novel platform with Kite's deep expertise and footprint in cell therapy research, development and manufacturing, we aim to advance best-in-class in vivo therapies to bring them to patients more efficiently."
The modular architecture of Interius's platform allows for rapid adaptation across disease states and scale of manufacturing, enabling the potential to expand access to cell therapies for patients who previously could not benefit from them, particularly those with rapidly progressing disease.
"This marks a pivotal step for Interius and the future of in vivo therapy, which has the potential to reduce treatment timelines, broaden access to care and improve outcomes for patients with aggressive or advanced disease," said Phil Johnson, President and CEO, Interius BioTherapeutics. "With the addition of Kite's deep expertise and global infrastructure, we're well-positioned to move quickly into multiple therapeutic areas, expand access to cell therapies and deliver meaningful innovation to patients."
Interius's team and operations will integrate into Kite's established research team, creating a center of excellence in Philadelphia to accelerate the development of next-generation in vivo therapies.
Terms of the Agreement
Under the terms of the acquisition agreement with Interius, Kite will acquire all of the outstanding share capital of Interius for a total of $350 million in cash consideration, subject to customary adjustments, which is payable at closing. This transaction with Interius is expected to reduce Gilead's GAAP and non-GAAP 2025 EPS by approximately $0.23-$0.25. Closing of the transaction is subject to expiration or termination of the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act and other customary conditions.
TD Cowen is acting as exclusive financial advisor to Kite and Evercore is serving as exclusive financial advisor to Interius.
About Kite
Kite, a Gilead Company, is a global biopharmaceutical company based in Santa Monica, California, focused on achieving cures with cell therapy. With a global cell therapy footprint, Kite has treated more patients with CAR T-cell therapy than any other company. Kite has the largest in-house cell therapy manufacturing network in the world, spanning process development, vector manufacturing, clinical trial supply and commercial product manufacturing. For more information on Kite, please visit www.kitepharma.com.
About Gilead Sciences
Gilead Sciences, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company that has pursued and achieved breakthroughs in medicine for more than three decades, with the goal of creating a healthier world for all people. The company is committed to advancing innovative medicines to prevent and treat life-threatening diseases, including HIV, viral hepatitis, COVID-19, cancer and inflammation. Gilead operates in more than 35 countries worldwide, with headquarters in Foster City, Calif. Gilead acquired Kite in 2017.
About Interius BioTherapeutics
Interius BioTherapeutics is a clinical stage biotechnology company engineering targeted, programmable vectors for the precision delivery of genetic medicines to treat an array of challenging diseases in oncology, autoimmunity and beyond. Leveraging a proprietary platform, Interius has created a differentiated off-the-shelf therapeutic modality designed for broad patient access. The Company's lead programs aim to overcome the current limitations of ex vivo chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy by creating therapeutic CAR cells directly in the patient's body, avoiding preconditioning chemotherapy, manufacturing bottlenecks and high costs.
For more information, visit www.interiusbio.com and follow us on LinkedIn.
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 ability of the parties to complete the transaction in a timely manner or at all; the possibility that various closing conditions for the transaction may not be satisfied or waived, including the possibility that a governmental entity may prohibit, delay or refuse to grant approval for the consummation of the transaction; uncertainties relating to the timing or outcome of any filings and approvals relating to the transaction; difficulties or unanticipated expenses in connection with integrating the companies, including the effects of the transaction on relationships with employees, other business partners or governmental entities; the risk that Gilead and Kite may not realize the expected benefits of this transaction; the ability of Gilead and Kite to advance their product pipeline and successfully commercialize product candidates following the acquisition; the ability of the parties to initiate and complete clinical trials involving such product candidates in the currently anticipated timelines or at all; the possibility of unfavorable results from one or more of such trials involving such product candidates; uncertainties relating to regulatory applications and related filing and approval timelines, including the risk that FDA may not approve any such product candidates in the anticipated indications or on the timelines or at all, and any marketing approvals, if granted, may have significant limitations on its use; any assumptions underlying any of the foregoing. These and other risks, uncertainties and other factors are described in detail in Gilead's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2025, as filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. These risks, uncertainties and other factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those referred to in the forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements. The reader is cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties and is cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements are based on information currently available to Gilead and Kite, and Gilead and Kite assume no obligation and disclaim any intent to update any such forward-looking statements.
Kite, the Kite logo and GILEAD are trademarks of Gilead Sciences, Inc. or its related companies.
For more information on Kite, please visit the company's website at www.kitepharma.com. Follow Kite on social media on Facebook, X (@KitePharma), LinkedIn and YouTube.
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Gilead Info
Blair Baumwell, Media
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Jacquie Ross, Investors
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Interius BioTherapeutics Info
Karissa Cross
LifeSci Communications
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