Kite Acquires Interius BioTherapeutics for $350M to Advance In Vivo CAR-T Platform
核心洞察
Kite (搜索), a Gilead Company, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Interius BioTherapeutics (搜索) for $350 million to advance in vivo CAR (搜索)-T cell therapy development.
Interius's innovative platform generates CAR (搜索)-T cells directly within the patient's body through a single intravenous infusion, eliminating the need for preconditioning chemotherapy and complex cell processing.
The acquisition aims to expand access to cell therapies for patients with rapidly progressing diseases who previously could not benefit from traditional CAR (搜索)-T treatments.
Kite (搜索), a Gilead Company, announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Interius BioTherapeutics (搜索), a privately held biotechnology company developing in vivo CAR (搜索) therapeutics, for $350 million. The acquisition represents a strategic expansion of Kite's cell therapy capabilities into the emerging field of in vivo CAR-T cell generation.
Revolutionary In Vivo Platform Technology
Interius's integrating in vivo platform enables the generation of CAR (搜索)-T cells directly within the patient's body, potentially offering 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 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 (搜索). "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."
Expanding Patient Access
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 off-the-shelf yet personalized approach addresses current limitations of ex vivo CAR (搜索)-T cell therapy, including manufacturing bottlenecks and high costs.
"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 (搜索). "With the addition of Kite (搜索)'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."
Strategic Integration and Financial Impact
Interius's team and operations will integrate into Kite (搜索)'s established research team, creating a center of excellence in Philadelphia to accelerate the development of next-generation in vivo therapies. Under the terms of the acquisition agreement, Kite will acquire all outstanding share capital of Interius for $350 million in cash consideration, subject to customary adjustments, payable at closing.
The transaction 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.
Company Backgrounds
Kite (搜索), acquired by Gilead in 2017, is a global biopharmaceutical company focused on achieving cures with cell therapy. The company has treated more patients with CAR (搜索)-T cell therapy than any other company and operates the largest in-house cell therapy manufacturing network in the world, spanning process development, vector manufacturing, clinical trial supply and commercial product manufacturing.
Interius BioTherapeutics (搜索) is a clinical stage biotechnology company engineering targeted, programmable vectors for the precision delivery of genetic medicines to treat challenging diseases in oncology, autoimmunity and beyond. The company's lead programs aim to overcome current limitations of ex vivo CAR (搜索)-T cell therapy by creating therapeutic CAR cells directly in the patient's body.