American biopharma major Gilead Sciences and immunotherapy company EVOQ Therapeutics have entered into a partnership to develop and market immunotherapy products.

Under the collaboration and licensing agreement, Gilead Sciences will acquire the exclusive license for EVOQ Therapeutics’ NanoDisc technology to pursue product candidates for rheumatoid arthritis and lupus treatment.

As per the agreement, EVOQ Therapeutics may receive up to $658.5 million in upfront, option exercise, and milestone payments across all programs along with tiered royalties on sales of products.

EVOQ Therapeutics’ NanoDisc technology facilitates lymph-targeted delivery of disease-specific antigens and could transform the paradigm for the treatment of autoimmune diseases.

Flavius Martin — Gilead Sciences Research Executive Vice President said: “Despite key advances over the past two decades, there remains significant unmet need for people living with inflammatory and autoimmune diseases.

“We are excited to collaborate with EVOQ to further expand our autoimmune pipeline with the goal of addressing the needs of people living with these conditions.”

Gilead Sciences and EVOQ Therapeutics will collaborate on preclinical development with the former responsible for clinical development and commercialization.

William Brinkerhoff — EVOQ Therapeutics CEO said: “Gilead has an incredible track record in therapeutic development and of delivering innovative medicines to people around the world. We look forward to working with the Gilead team to advance new treatment options for RA and lupus patients.”

  Autoimmune diseases, EVOQ Therapeutics, Flavius Martin, Gilead Sciences, Lupus, Rheumatoid arthritis, William Brinkerhoff