Gilead Buys Oxford Spin-out MiroBio
Gilead Sciences has agreed to acquire MiroBio, a privately held UK biotech focused on treating inflammatory diseases, for about $405 million in cash.
Spun out of Oxford University in 2019, MiroBio has a proprietary discovery platform and portfolio of immune inhibitory receptor agonists. The I-ReSToRE platform – Receptor Selection and Targeting to Reinstate immune Equilibrium – has potential to be used to develop best-in-class agonist antibodies targeting immune inhibitory receptors, a novel approach for the treatment of inflammatory diseases.
Chairman of MiroBio, Eliot Charles, commented: “MiroBio has a deep understanding of checkpoint receptor signaling and a proprietary approach to select and generate superior agonist antibodies. Combining this with Gilead’s drug development and therapeutic area expertise will allow us to fully explore the potential of checkpoint agonist antibodies for patients with autoimmune disease.”
MiroBio’s lead investigational antibody MB272 has entered Phase 1 clinical trials, and another – a PD-1 agonist – is reported to be in preclinical testing. Gilead anticipates advancing additional agonists from the I-ReSToRE platform over the next several years.
Author: Elaine Buridge, Freelance Journalist
