Kite to acquire Interius to advance in vivo platform

Gilead’s Kite has entered into an agreement to acquire Interius BioTherapeutics, a privately held biotech developing in vivo CAR therapeutics, for $350 million.

The deal will give Kite access to Interius' integrating in vivo platform. Unlike traditional CAR-T therapies that require cell harvesting, engineering and reinfusion, Interius’ off-the-shelf yet personalized approach is designed to be delivered via a single intravenous infusion, eliminating the need for preconditioning chemotherapy and complex cell processing.

The buy will foray Kite into in vivo cell therapies, which have the potential to democratize cell therapy access by bypassing the complexity and costs associated with ex vivo cell production. Moving in vivo CAR-Ts into the clinic was a key talking point at the recent ISCT and ASGCT conferences, back by recent acquisitions.

In March AstraZeneca entered into a potential $1 billion agreement to acquire EsoBiotec, picking up the Belgium-based biotech’s in vivo delivery platform. In June, AbbVie acquired Capstan Therapeutics, a San Diego-based biotech focused on advancing in vivo engineering of cells through RNA delivery, in a deal worth up to $2.1 billion in cash.