Gilead to Pay $1.4 Billion for Hepatitis Drugmaker MYR GmbH

MYR, a 35-person company based in Bad Homburg, received conditional approval from European regulators in July to market its drug Hepcludex for treatment of hepatitis D, a viral disease that can lead to liver cirrhosis, cancer and death.

The disease affects at least 12 million people globally and about 230,000 in the U.S. and Europe, Gilead said. MYR is currently selling the drug in France, Germany and Austria and plans to launch in more countries next year, Gilead said. The company intends to seek U.S. approval in the second half of 2021.

Under the terms of the deal, Gilead will pay MYR shareholders up to $362 million, reported as 300 million euros, in additional milestone payments upon a U.S. approval, Gilead said.

“We look forward to working with the team at MYR to realize the full potential of Hepcludex for patients with [hepatitis D] world-wide,” Gilead Chief Executive Daniel O’Day said. “This will build on the work that Gilead has been doing for almost two decades to innovate and improve therapies for viral hepatitis.”

Gilead, based in Foster City, Calif., is among the world’s largest drugmakers for HIV and hepatitis C therapies. However, the company has faced slowing growth in recent years amid pricing pressures in the U.S. and battles with rivals for market share.

Mr. O’Day has used Gilead’s considerable cash reserves to make a series of acquisitions and partnerships over the past year to beef up its product pipeline. They include a $21 billion deal in September to buy Immunomedics Inc., maker of a prized breast-cancer medication.

Gilead received an unexpected revenue boost this year from sales of remdesivir, sold under the brand name Veklury. Gilead originally developed the antiviral drug for Ebola, which then became the first medication approved in the U.S. to treat Covid-19. Remdesivir also faced controversy in some quarters because of mixed effectiveness results in clinical trials.

Hepatitis D can be transmitted only to patients who are already infected with hepatitis B, which is spread through bodily fluids, blood and semen. In the U.S., hepatitis D is uncommon, and most cases occur among patients who have traveled or migrated from countries with high rates, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Gilead said about 60% of patients in a study of 90 patients had significant reductions in detectable virus after treatment with Hepcludex and another antiviral drug.

Write to Joseph Walker at [email protected]