$1.275B Upfront Deal Adds Oral IL-23R Inhibitor to Gilead's IBD Pipeline
GILD sits 38% above its 52-week low of $114.02.
Summary
Gilead agreed to pay $1.275 billion in upfront cash to privately held PepStar Therapeutics for worldwide rights to its oral IL-23R inhibitor program, led by Phase 1 asset HCXT-2001. The target is clinically validated in inflammatory bowel disease, and Gilead's CMO flagged potential use alone or combined with its own emvistegrast, which hit its main goal in a mid-stage ulcerative colitis trial on October 19. The price is modest against Gilead's scale, but the company expects the deal to cut GAAP and non-GAAP EPS by roughly $0.79 to $0.83 in Q4 2026, a real hit to that quarter's reported results. Closing is expected in Q4 2026, subject to customary conditions. Watch the Q4 print for the EPS impact and any early HCXT-2001 trial updates.
At the time of this announcement, GILD was trading at $157.19 on NASDAQ in the Life Sciences sector, with a market capitalization of approximately $194.9B. The 52-week trading range was $114.02 to $160.51. This news item was assessed with neutral market sentiment and an importance score of 7 out of 10. Source: BusinessWire.