Why Gilead Really Bought Arcellx
Does this mean autologous cell therapy is back in favor? Not quite.
If you are a close watcher of the cell therapy field, as I am, by now you’ve heard that Gilead GILD 0.00%↑ acquired Arcellx ACLX 0.00%↑ for an implied value of $7.8B. The deal includes an additional $5 per share contingent value right (CVR) if the companies’ BCMA CAR-T program, anito-cel, is able to achieve $6B+ in sales by the end of 2029. It also comes at at 68% premium to Arcellx’s 30-day volume-weighted average (VWAP) share price as of February 20, 2026.
If your news feeds are anything like mine, you’ve also probably been inundated with a copious amount of room temperature AI-slop on this deal (especially in the “HR App”). Nearly all of these “analyses” are basically extrapolations of abstractions from the press release. All of these condense down to some form of, “This deal reflects Gilead’s conviction in anito-cel! Big Pharma interest in autologous cell therapy has been reinvigorated! This will open up the gates for more auto cell therapy acquisitions!”.
Now that that’s out of the way we can start talking specifics. As someone who has spent a large chunk of his career shaping strategy in the effort to advance ex vivo cell therapy products (including at Gilead/Kite), I would love for this acquisition to mean that this class, especially autologous, are back in vogue writ-large. The reality, reflected in the details and context leading up to this deal, paint a different story.
