Gilead Acquires Ouro Medicines
Gilead acquires Ouro Medicines and gamgertamig, a BCMA-targeted T-cell engager, while Galapagos negotiates cost sharing that shifts development costs.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Gilead executed a definitive agreement to buy Ouro for $1.7B upfront and up to $500M in contingents.
- Galapagos would fund half the upfront and milestone costs and split registrational-study expenses equally.
- Gilead retains worldwide rights outside Greater China and will pay Galapagos 20-23% royalties.
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Gilead Sciences said in a press release on March 23, 2026, it executed a definitive agreement to acquire Ouro Medicines, adding OM336 (gamgertamig), a BCMAxCD3 T-cell engager, to its inflammation portfolio and planning registrational studies.
Deal Terms and Galapagos Collaboration
The agreement requires $1.675 billion in cash at closing plus up to $500 million in contingent milestone payments, totaling up to $2.175 billion. The transaction remains subject to regulatory filings and customary closing conditions. Ouro Medicines, a private company founded in January 2025 by GSK and Monograph Capital, will transfer substantially all its operating assets to Galapagos, in which Gilead holds about a 25% stake. Galapagos is in advanced talks to assume these assets and retain Ouro’s employees while covering half of the upfront payment and milestone costs.
Under the proposed cost-sharing, Gilead and Galapagos would split registrational-study expenses equally. Gilead will retain worldwide commercialization rights outside Greater China, where Keymed Biosciences holds rights. Gilead will pay Galapagos royalties of 20% to 23% of net sales. An amendment to Galapagos’s OLCA would free up to $500 million of its cash, including as much as $150 million for share repurchases, providing financial flexibility as it takes on development responsibilities.
Gamgertamig Clinical Profile and Regulatory Path
OM336 (gamgertamig) is a BCMAxCD3 bispecific T-cell engager targeting autoimmune diseases. Early results from ongoing Phase 1/2 trials showed what the company described as transformative efficacy and a differentiated safety profile after a single treatment cycle in patients with autoimmune hemolytic anemia and immune thrombocytopenia. The program holds Orphan Drug and Fast Track designations for these indications, has an open Investigational New Drug application in the U.S., and is expected to enter registrational studies in 2027.
Dietmar Berger, Gilead’s chief medical officer, said, "This acquisition underscores our commitment to advancing transformative therapies for people living with serious autoimmune diseases."
This deal expands Gilead’s presence in BCMA-targeted therapies, following its February 2026 acquisition of Arcellx. That acquisition brought a BCMA-directed CAR-T therapy for multiple myeloma, while gamgertamig represents a move into autoimmune-focused T-cell engagers. Together, these transactions broaden Gilead’s portfolio and shift development costs toward a partner while preserving its global commercialization rights.
