Gilead brings Medicxi’s tiny Gadeta into the cell therapy fold, hunting a way to pick the lock on solid tumors
The battleship Gilead has added a small but potentially remarkable biotech tug boat to its fast-growing cell therapy drug fleet.
The biopharma powerhouse’s CAR-T company Kite is allying with tiny Gadeta in the Netherlands, inking a deal to collaborate on its gamma delta TCR tech, funding research and lining up an option to buy them out if it all works out.
Details are scant. Gadeta was seeded by Medicxi out of London, which also joined Baxalta Ventures on a slim $8 million launch round in 2016. Now with a staff in the 20s, Gadeta is still preclinical, but lining up a shot at a critical human study for solid tumors in 2020. And Gilead/Kite is hoping that Gadeta — specializing in the highly specific gamma delta field — will open up a world of new opportunities in oncology.
Unlock this article instantly by becoming a free subscriber.
You’ll get access to free articles each month, plus you can customize what newsletters get delivered to your inbox each week, including breaking news.