Gilead Sciences has entered into a partnership with OncoNano Medicine, a Texas-based biotechnology company, to develop a delivery system for one of Gilead’s investigational cancer drugs. The deal, announced Tuesday, will provide OncoNano with up to $300 million in payments. This sum includes an upfront payment, milestone payments, and potential additional payments if Gilead chooses to expand the collaboration to include another target.
The focus of the partnership is OncoNano’s ON-BOARD platform. According to information from the company’s website, this technology uses ultra pH-sensitive polymeric micelles to encapsulate drugs and respond specifically to the cellular environments found in various cancers. The approach aims to protect the drug from breaking down in the body and ensure its targeted release within tumor microenvironments.
“We believe it can complement Gilead’s oncology expertise to bring effective treatment options to patients,” said Kartik Krishnan, CEO of OncoNano Medicine.
The companies have not disclosed which specific cancer drug from Gilead will be used with the ON-BOARD platform.
This new agreement follows Gilead’s recent decision to discontinue development of its TIGIT therapy domvanalimab after interim results from a Phase III trial showed no significant improvement over existing treatments. The company had been working on domvanalimab in partnership with Arcus Therapeutics but decided to end both the STAR-221 Phase III trial and a related Phase II study after an analysis suggested continuing would not yield positive results.
Gilead has previously indicated its intention to pursue more business development opportunities aimed at strengthening its portfolios in areas such as liver disease, immunology, and cancer. During the company’s third-quarter earnings call, CFO Andrew Dickinson stated that Gilead seeks “late-stage derisked assets” for acquisition or partnership every two to three years at minimum.
