Gilead Sciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: GILD) today announced an agreement with Everest Medicines to transfer all development and commercialization rights to Gilead for Trodelvy® (sacituzumab govitecan) in Greater China, South Korea, Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and Mongolia.
In China mainland and Singapore, Trodelvy is approved for the treatment of adult patients with unresectable locally advanced or metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) who have received two or more prior systemic therapies, at least one of them for metastatic disease. Gilead continues to work closely with regulatory bodies in Hong Kong, South Korea and Taiwan, where New Drug Applications, filed by Everest Medicines for metastatic TNBC, are currently under review.
“Trodelvy is approved for second-line metastatic TNBC in over 35 countries. We thank Everest Medicines for their partnership and important contributions in the development of Trodelvy in Asia. Their collaboration has brought us closer to bringing Trodelvy to patients who need alternative options,” said Bill Grossman, MD, PhD, Senior Vice President, Oncology Clinical Research, Gilead Sciences. “Trodelvy is the cornerstone of our solid tumor portfolio, and we are committed to bringing this transformative therapy to as many patients as possible. We look forward to rapidly advancing our development program in Asia and to realizing the clinical potential of Trodelvy across diverse tumor types.”
In April 2019, Everest Medicines and Immunomedics entered into an agreement granting Everest Medicines an exclusive license to develop and commercialize Trodelvy in Greater China, South Korea, Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and Mongolia, excluding Japan. Gilead subsequently acquired Immunomedics in October 2020 and created an extensive global clinical development program, including investigating Trodelvy as a monotherapy and in novel combinations, across multiple disease areas including non-small cell lung cancer, metastatic urothelial cancer and gastrointestinal cancers.
“We welcome the opportunity to restructure our partnership with Gilead, which has been built on a shared vision of providing innovative oncology solutions for patients in need. With capital resources and a track record of successful therapeutic development and commercialization for Trodelvy in the U.S., Gilead is an ideal partner to further develop and commercialize Trodelvy in Asia Pacific regions to maximize patient access,” said Kerry Blanchard, MD, PhD, Chief Executive Officer of Everest Medicines. “I am exceedingly proud of what Everest has accomplished in advancing Trodelvy in China and other Asia territories, and we will continue to bring more transformational therapies to patients in China and worldwide with our extensive pipeline of clinical and pre-clinical stage assets.”
Under the terms of the agreement, Gilead will make a $280 million upfront payment to Everest. In addition, Everest is eligible to receive up to $175 million in potential additional payments upon achievement of certain regulatory and commercial milestones. Gilead will also have the opportunity to recruit Everest employees working directly on the Trodelvy program. The transaction is expected to close later this year, and will be subject to customary closing conditions, including approval by Everest’s shareholders.
Trodelvy U.S. Prescribing Information has a Boxed Warning for severe or life-threatening neutropenia and severe diarrhea; see below for Important Safety Information.