-- Facilities in the Netherlands and the United States Will Help
Advance Manufacturing of Cell Therapies for People with Cancer --
SANTA MONICA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 15, 2018--
Kite, a Gilead Company (Nasdaq: GILD), today announced it has leased a
new facility in the Netherlands to engineer cell therapies in Europe.
The 117,000 square-foot site in Hoofddorp (SEGRO Park Amsterdam Airport)
will enable Kite to efficiently manufacture and deliver its cell
therapies to people living with cancer in Europe and will provide more
than 300 new jobs when fully operational in 2020.
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The facility will engineer and produce innovative cell therapies,
including axicabtagene ciloleucel, a Chimeric Antigen Receptor T cell
(CAR T) therapy that is currently under review by the European Medicines
Agency and which is approved in the United States as Yescarta®.
“We are pleased to be leading a new frontier of cancer innovation that
is bringing hope for people living with cancer,” commented John F.
Milligan, PhD, Gilead’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “This new
European manufacturing facility will enable personalized cell therapies
to be manufactured in closer geographic proximity to the patients who
will receive them, potentially shortening the turnaround time for people
who urgently need care.”
In addition to the Netherlands facility, Kite has recently purchased a
new building in Santa Monica from Astellas Pharma Inc. that will be used
for cell therapy research, development and the expansion of clinical
manufacturing capabilities, and has leased a 26,000 square-foot facility
in Gaithersburg, Maryland. The Maryland site will support the work of a
new Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the
National Cancer Institute (NCI) to develop adoptive cell therapies
targeting patient-specific tumor neoantigens. Neoantigens are mutations
found on the surface of cancer cells that are unique to each person and
tumor, offering the potential for more targeted antitumor activity.
“We are proud to be at the forefront of advancing cell therapy, which we
believe has the potential to transform cancer treatment,” said
Alessandro Riva, MD, Gilead’s Executive Vice President, Oncology
Therapeutics & Head, Cell Therapy. “The addition of these three new
facilities and the expanded CRADA with our research collaborators at the
NCI will help us bring cell therapies to more people with cancer around
the world.”
About Kite
Kite, a Gilead Company, is a biopharmaceutical company based in Santa
Monica, California. Kite is engaged in the development of innovative
cancer immunotherapies. The company is focused on chimeric antigen
receptor and T cell receptor engineered cell therapies. For more
information on Kite, please visit www.kitepharma.com.
About Gilead Sciences
Gilead Sciences is a biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops
and commercializes innovative therapeutics in areas of unmet medical
need. The company’s mission is to advance the care of patients suffering
from life-threatening diseases. Gilead has operations in more than 35
countries worldwide, with headquarters in Foster City, California.
Forward-Looking Statement
This press release includes forward-looking statements, within the
meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that are
subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, including the risk
that Kite may not realize the potential benefits of the new
manufacturing facilities and the expanded collaboration with the
National Cancer Institute and the risk that the new facilities may not
be fully operational in the currently anticipated timelines. Further,
the European Commission may not approve axicabtagene ciloleucel in the
currently anticipated timelines or at all, and any marketing approval,
if granted, may have significant limitations on its use. All statements
other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be
deemed forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that any such
forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and
involve risks and uncertainties and are cautioned not to place undue
reliance on these forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ
materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of risks and
uncertainties. Risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual
results to differ from expectations contemplated by forward-looking
statements include risks and uncertainties detailed from time to time in
the companies’ periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission, including current reports on Form 8-K, quarterly reports on
Form 10-Q and annual reports on Form 10-K. All forward-looking
statements are based on information currently available to Gilead and
Kite, and Gilead and Kite assume no obligation and disclaim any intent
to update any such forward-looking statements.
US Prescribing Information for Yescarta, including BOXED WARNING and
Medication Guide, is available at www.kitepharma.com
and www.gilead.com.
For more information on Kite, please visit the company’s website at www.kitepharma.com.
Learn more about Gilead at www.gilead.com,
follow Gilead on Twitter (@GileadSciences) or call Gilead Public Affairs
at 1-800-GILEAD-5 or 1-650-574-300.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180515005353/en/
Source: Gilead Sciences
Gilead SciencesInvestorsSung Lee, +1 650-524-7792orMedia
(Europe)Sarah Swift, +44 (208) 587-2618orMedia (U.S.)Nathan
Kaiser, +1 650-522-1853
