US headquartered Gilead Sciences and Japan based Carna Biosciences has announced that the companies have entered into a research and development collaboration to develop and commercialize small molecule compounds in immuno-oncology and to access Carna’s proprietary lipid kinase drug discovery platform.

Under the terms of the license agreement, Gilead will license from Carna worldwide rights to develop and commercialize inhibitors against an undisclosed immuno-oncology target. In connection with this agreement, Carna will receive an upfront payment of $20 million and is eligible to receive up to an additional $450 million in potential milestone payments upon achievement of certain development and commercial milestones. Carna will also receive royalties on future net sales.

"We are delighted to partner with Gilead on our immuno-oncology pipeline targeting the lipid signaling pathway, as we believe modulators of lipid signaling have the potential to become the next generation of cancer immunotherapies,” said Masaaki Sawa, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer and Head of Research and Development at Carna Biosciences.

Under the collaboration, Gilead will also have exclusive access to Carna’s proprietary lipid kinase drug discovery platform.

“We are excited to work with Gilead, a biopharmaceutical company known for its science-driven innovation and productivity,” said Kohichiro Yoshino, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer at Carna Biosciences. “We are proud that our drug discovery support team can also help the development of potentially innovative cancer immunotherapies at Gilead by utilizing Carna’s proprietary kinase drug discovery technology platform.”

“Gilead is committed to building a pipeline in immuno-oncology with a focus on opportunities with the potential to be first-in-class or to be meaningfully differentiated from other therapeutic options,” said John McHutchison, AO, MD, Chief Scientific Officer and Head of Research and Development at Gilead Sciences. “Our Carna collaboration also reflects this strategy and we look forward to working with the Carna team to advance novel immunotherapies into clinical testing for the potential benefit of patients.”