(Reuters) – Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ: ) said on Saturday it had entered into a partnership with Denmark's LEO Pharma to develop programs to treat patients with inflammatory diseases.
The Danish company will be entitled to receive up to 1.7 billion dollars in payments including an upfront payment of 250 million dollars from Gilead.
In return, Gilead will have worldwide rights to develop, manufacture, and commercialize the small molecule oral STAT6 (signal transducer and activator of transcription 6) system.
Targeting STAT6 has shown early potential to treat a wide range of patients with inflammatory conditions such as atopic dermatitis, asthma, and COPD, he said.
LEO Pharma can earn royalties ranging from the high single digits to the mid-teens for sales of STAT6 products.
The transaction is expected to reduce Gilead's 2025 GAAP and non-GAAP earnings per share by approximately $0.15 – $0.17.
“Together with LEO Pharma, we hope to explore the potential of the STAT6 pathway to bring oral options to patients with chronic inflammatory disease,” said Flavius Martin, executive vice president of research at Gilead Sciences.