It’s the season for reevaluation as companies weed out programs that don’t offer much promise. At the head of the line is Sanofi SA’s once-potential myasthenia gravis blockbuster tolebrutinib. A partial clinical hold on the phase III study is part of the reasoning for stopping its development. But so is competition, the company said. Other companies eliminating development programs include Roche Holding AG, Gilead Sciences Inc., AB Science SA and Merck & Co. Inc.

In one of the first large preclinical deals of 2023, Evoq Therapeutics Inc. is licensing for up to $685.5 million its Nanodisc technology to Gilead Sciences Inc. to develop new rheumatoid arthritis and lupus treatments. The potential payout includes up-front fees, an option exercise and milestone payments across both programs. Evoq also could receive tiered royalties on any sales that result.

Viral specialist Gilead Sciences Inc.’s U.S. FDA clearance for twice-yearly Sunlenca (lenacapavir) in combination with other antiretroviral therapies for HIV-1 infection provides heavily treatment-experienced patients a new option, and gives the company room to flex with new add-ons.

While new data from Arcus Biosciences Inc. and Gilead Sciences Inc. didn't do much to calm an unsteady development corridor, researcher, developers and analysts still hold out hope for the TIGIT pathway. The Arcus-Gilead randomized phase II study combining anti-TIGIT domvanalimab and anti-PD1 antibodies for treating first-line, metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer produced positive results, including improvements in median progression-free survival (PFS) and six-month landmark PFS rates vs. monotherapy. But a hefty dent in Arcus' shares provide a reminder of TIGIT’s fragility as a field, and a reminder of the phase III failure in May for Roche Holding AG unit Genentech Inc.'s anti-TIGIT immunotherapy tiragolumab, which dragged down the share value of several other class entrants. Arcus stock (NASDAQ:RCUS) dipped deeply on Dec. 20 on the new data’s release, but rallied on Dec. 21 by closing 7.5% upward at $22.15 each.

Arcellx Inc. signed a deal that could be worth almost $4 billion with Gilead Sciences Inc.’s unit Kite Pharma Inc. to push forward Arcellx's lead late-stage candidate CART-ddBCMA for relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma. The arrangement brings $225 million up front plus an equity investment of $100 million, along with as much as $3.9 billion in milestone payments. Arcellx CEO Rami Elghandour said the firm sorted through a number of suitors interested in the program. Data at the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting “catalyzed a number of discussions and a broad set of interests. We felt of the possibilities out there, [Kite/Gilead is] the partner of choice in this space.”

Researchers from Gilead Sciences Inc. presented preclinical data for the hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccine candidates GS-2829 and GS-6779. Conservation analysis and functional immunogenicity screening were applied to identify optimized anti-hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg).