Cell Design Labs: Gilead Sciences to Acquire Cell Design Labs

Cell Design Labs, Inc., a privately-held biotechnology company developing disruptive CAR-T and T cell receptor (TCR) therapies, announced today that Gilead Sciences (Nasdaq: GILD) has agreed to acquire Cell Design Labs in a structured buy out valued for up to $567 million, including the shares of Cell Design Labs held by Kite. According to Brian Atwood, President and CEO of Cell Design Labs, Inc., “Bringing our robust technology platforms under the Gilead umbrella, with its outstanding research and development capabilities and commitment to innovation, provides an exciting path forward for the development of the next generation of living therapies for patients with cancer.” “We have been working with Cell Design Labs for almost 18 months, and truly appreciate the groundbreaking nature of their technology platforms,” commented David D. Chang, M.D., Ph.D., Worldwide Head of Research and Development and Chief Medical Officer at Kite. “We’ve already integrated THROTTLE™ Switch into our CAR-T pipeline and look forward to exploring the full depth and breadth of the technologies of Gilead, Kite and Cell Design Labs to expand the cell therapy toolbox.”