Gilead completes acquisition of MiroBio in $405m cash deal

Gilead Sciences (Gilead) has announced the completion of the previously announced transaction to acquire UK-based biotechnology company MiroBio, for approximately $405m in cash.

The deal includes MiroBio’s proprietary discovery platform and its entire portfolio of immune inhibitory receptor agonists.

MiroBio’s lead investigational antibody, MB272, is a selective agonist of immune inhibitory receptor B- and T-Lymphocyte Attenuator (BTLA) which is currently in phase 1 clinical trials, with the first patient dosed in early August 2022. The antibody targets T, B and dendritic cells to inhibit or blunt activation and suppress an inflammatory immune response.

MiroBio’s REceptor Selection and Targeting to Reinstate immune Equilibrium – I-ReSToRE platform – has the potential to be used to develop best-in-class agonist antibodies targeting immune inhibitory receptors, a novel approach to the treatment of inflammatory diseases.

The platform supports the identification and development of therapeutics that utilise inhibitory signalling networks to restore immune homeostasis for patients.

Gilead said it anticipates advancing additional agonists derived from MiroBio’s I-ReSToRE platform, including a PD-1 agonist, MB151, and other undisclosed early-stage programmes, over the 'next several years'.

Commenting on the acquisition, Flavius Martin, executive vice president, research, Gilead Sciences, said: “Inflammation is a key area of focus for Gilead, and MiroBio’s novel discovery platform technology and pipeline provides the opportunity to develop potentially best-in-class large molecule therapeutics to help patients with currently unmet medical needs.

“This novel approach to inflammatory diseases has the potential to be an important part of providing durable remission for patients living with complex and chronic immune-mediated conditions.”

MiroBio was spun out of Oxford University in 2019, with the privately-owned biotech based on more than 15 years of foundational research from the labs of Professor Simon Davis and Professor Richard Cornall.

“MiroBio has a deep understanding of checkpoint receptor signalling and a proprietary approach to select and generate superior agonist antibodies. Combining this with Gilead’s drug development and therapeutic area expertise will allow us to fully explore the potential of checkpoint agonist antibodies for patients with autoimmune disease,” said Eliot Charles, chairman of MiroBio, when the acquisition was originally announced.