Gilead Sciences and ONO to develop B-cell malignancy drug

Gilead Sciences has announced a new partnership with ONO Pharmaceutical, focusing on the development of a Bruton's tyrosine kinase inhibitor for the treatment of B-cell malignancies and other diseases.

The exclusive license agreement for the oral therapy ONO-4059 will see Gilead pay ONO an upfront payment, plus additional fees based upon achievement of certain developmental, regulatory and commercial milestones.

Gilead will have exclusive rights to develop and commercialise ONO-4059 in all countries of the world outside of Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations countries, where ONO retains these rights.

This means Gilead now has compounds targeting four unique signaling pathways associated with B-cell malignancies.

Dr Norbert Bischofberger, Gilead's executive vice-president for research and development and chief scientific officer, said: "In addition to evaluating ONO-4059 in combination with standards of care, we believe there is an opportunity to combine this compound with Gilead's other kinase inhibitors, with a goal of achieving more pronounced and more durable response rates."

Last week, the company announced the appointment of  Dr Philippe Bishop, formerly of Genentech, as its new senior vice-president for haematology and oncology therapeutics.