Gilead inks $90m deal with Verily to create “molecular map” of inflammatory disease

Gilead Sciences (NSDQ:GILD) is reportedly slated to pay Alphabet’s Verily Life Sciences $90 million over three years to analyze cells from patients with rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease and lupus-related diseases.

By probing immune cells from patients involved in Gilead’s clinical trials, the companies hope to glean a better understanding of the immunological signatures of RA, IBD and lupus-related diseases. It’s the first large-scale use of Verily’s Immunoscape platform, which combines immunogenomic phenotyping and computational analysis to profile the molecular characteristics of inflammatory diseases.

The companies’ collaboration could produce new knowledge about the biology of RA, IBD and lupus-related diseases, Gilead said. Ultimately, the group hopes to help doctors select a therapy or dosing that is specific to particular groups of patients.

“Inflammatory diseases are complex and heterogeneous, and despite treatment advances, most patients experience neither deep nor long-lasting remissions,” Dr. John McHutchison, chief scientific officer and head of R&D at Gilead, said in prepared remarks. “We hope to ultimately improve patient outcomes using this cutting-edge technology to identify molecular disease pathways that would otherwise remain undetected.”

“With the Immunoscape platform, we are seeking to develop a molecular map of inflammatory diseases that will help us identify and characterize disease mechanisms,” Dr. Jessica Mega, chief medical officer at Verily, added. “This collaboration with Gilead is an incredible opportunity to learn much more about these immune-mediated conditions than ever before, and to hone in on potential paths to deliver more precise medicine to patients.”

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