Gilead agreed to acquire Arcellx in a deal worth $7.8 billion, as the drugmaker looks to add a CAR T-cell therapy for the treatment of blood cancer that is nearing approval to its portfolio.
Under the agreement, Gilead will pay $115 per share, as well as a contingent value right of $5 each. The deal is expected to close in the second quarter of 2026.
The acquisition marks the culmination of a period of collaboration between the two companies. In 2022, Gilead, through its subsidiary Kite, signed a research and development partnership with Arcellx to advance the latter’s anitocabtagene autoleucel (anito-cel), an investigational BCMA-directed CAR T-cell therapy for patients with multiple myeloma. Gilead had invested in the biotech as part of the deal and, having injected more cash in 2023, currently owns an 11.5% stake in Arcellx.
Anito-cel, delivered ex-liveis currently under review by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), with an anticipated Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) action date of December 23, 2026. If approved, it will be available as a fourth-line treatment for patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma. The $5 contingent value fee (CVR) included in the acquisition will be paid if global sales of anito-cel reach $6 billion by the end of 2029.
In a research note, analysts at William Blair said: “We also model that Anito-cel will achieve $7.8 billion in cumulative global sales by the end of 2029, so we consider the CVR is likely to be achieved.”
Gilead CEO Daniel O’Day said: “This agreement reflects our belief in the potential of anito-cel and our intention to move quickly to fully realize that potential for patients with multiple myeloma.
“Beyond the potential launch this year, anito-cel could eventually become a cornerstone treatment for multiple myeloma, including earlier lines of therapy. Additionally, anito-cel’s D-domain BCMA binder could be important for our work in in vivo cell therapy, further strengthening our potential in oncology and inflammation,” O’Day added.
CAR T is a type of personalized immunotherapy that treats certain blood cancers by reprogramming the patient’s own T cells to recognize and destroy cancer cells. While all approved CAR-T products are ex-livepharmaceutical interest towards live Cell therapies have grown, which some investors tout as the future of CGT. This delivery route has dominated M&A activity in the CAR-T space over the past year.
The most recent big pharma company to sign a deal was Eli Lilly, which acquired Orna Therapeutics and its range of circular RNA (circRNA) and lipid nanoparticle-based therapies for $2.4 billion in February 2026. Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) made a similar move by spending $1.5 billion to acquire Orbital Therapeutics and its investigational RNA-based product. live CAR-T drugs in October 2025. In July 2025, AbbVie conducted a live play through its “high-risk, high-reward” $2.1 billion purchase of Capstan Therapeutics. Unlike many companies in the sector, which focus on the development of CAR T for oncology, Capstan is advancing its pipeline. live Therapeutics for the treatment of autoimmune diseases mediated by B cells.