Gilead Paid $510 Million For This Drug But Sold it For Only $3 Million

It was five years ago that Gilead Sciences Inc. paid $510 million for a deal that had a drug called momelotinib at the center of it.

The drug had originally been designed to treat a bone marrow condition called myelofibrosis.

Gilead sold the drug to Sierra Oncology for $3 million, who has other plans for momelotinib, focusing mostly on anemia and enlarged spleens in myelofibrosis patients.

Anemia is an area in which patients treated in the Phase II and Phase III studies of momelotinib showed improvement, Sierra stated.

Vancouver-based Sierra Oncology Inc., is led by Nick Glover, who was CEO of YM BioSciences.
It was in 2013 that a subsidiary of Gilead acquired all of the outstanding common shares of
YM, with YM becoming a wholly-owned subsidiary of Gilead.

It was in 2016 when results of a late-stage clinical trial in humans indicated momelotinib could be just as good Incyte Corp.’s Jakafi. Other data on the drug was mixed but Gilead had shelved it.

“The company is uniquely positioned to advance momelotinib towards potential registration with several members of the Sierra senior management team having played key roles in the development of momelotinib from its discovery through to Phase 3 clinical trials,” Glover remarked.

If Sierra is successful in developing, winning regulatory approval of momelotinib and selling it successfully, the company would make milestone payments of $195 million to Gilead. These would largely be based on commercial sales.

Disclaimer: We have no position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD) and have not been compensated for this article.