7 Trillion Won Bet on Cell Therapy: Gilead's Major M&A Again

On February 22, U.S. biotech company Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD) entered into a tender and support agreement with key shareholders of Arcellx, the developer of a blood cancer therapy, securing their commitments to participate in a tender offer and approve the merger.

In its February 10 announcement of fourth-quarter 2025 results, Gilead reported revenues of $7.9 billion (approximately KRW 10 trillion) for the quarter and $29.4 billion (approximately KRW 40 trillion) for the full year, marking year-over-year growth of 5% and 2%, respectively. The company said growth in its HIV and liver-disease portfolios partially offset a steep decline in sales of Veklury, its COVID-19 treatment.

On February 17, Chief Commercial and External Affairs Officer Johanna Mercier disclosed an insider transaction under a 10b5-1 trading plan, exercising stock options and selling tens of thousands of shares.

Under the acquisition agreement announced concurrently, Gilead will acquire Arcellx shares through a subsidiary-led tender offer at $115 per share plus up to $5 per share in contingent consideration, valuing the enterprise at about $7.8 billion (around KRW 10 trillion). The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2026.

In early March, Gilead released updated Phase 3 ARTISTRY trial data for its single-tablet HIV candidate combining bictegravir and lenacapavir, demonstrating non-inferior viral suppression and favorable tolerability compared with standard therapies over 48 weeks.

Gilead, a leading U.S. biotech and pharmaceutical company, began with antivirals for HIV, liver disease and COVID-19 and has since expanded into oncology and cell therapies. A significant portion of its revenue is driven by its HIV treatment Biktarvy.

With Veklury sales declining and key patents approaching expiration, Gilead and other global pharma companies are aggressively acquiring cell and gene therapy developers. High-value M&A has become an industry-wide strategy to bridge looming patent cliffs.