Can Gilead's Recent Acquisitions Strengthen Its Long-Term Growth Outlook?

Gilead Sciences, Inc. GILD is accelerating its external innovation strategy through targeted acquisitions to bolster its pipeline and diversify beyond its dominant HIV franchise.

The recently announced acquisition of Ouro Medicines adds OM336 (gamgertamig), a clinical-stage bispecific T-cell engager, to Gilead’s inflammation portfolio. Valued at $1.675 billion upfront, with up to $500 million in milestones, the deal underscores Gilead’s push into next-generation immunology. The asset introduces a potentially differentiated “immune reset” mechanism, which could enable durable responses or drug-free remission — an approach that aligns well with Gilead’s broader cell therapy and CAR-T capabilities.

Last month, Gilead also announced the acquisition of Arcellx for approximately $7.8 billion. This transaction centers on anitocabtagene autoleucel (anito-cel), a late-stage CAR-T therapy for relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma. With a U.S. regulatory decision expected by December 2026, anito-cel represents a key near-term catalyst with meaningful commercial potential, particularly if it expands into earlier lines of therapy.

Strategically, the Arcellx deal allows Gilead to consolidate full economic rights to anito-cel by eliminating prior profit-sharing and royalty obligations through its Kite Pharma subsidiary. This enhances long-term margin potential and improves value capture. Arcellx’s proprietary D-Domain platform provides optionality for next-generation cell therapies, supporting sustained innovation in oncology.

From an investment standpoint, these acquisitions signal a deliberate shift toward higher-growth therapeutic areas, including oncology and immunology, while reducing reliance on HIV revenues driven by blockbuster products like Biktarvy and Descovy. Management expects the Arcellx transaction to be earnings accretive by 2028, reinforcing its long-term financial rationale.

However, near-term risks remain. Gilead continues to face intensifying competition in its cell therapy segment, particularly in ex-U.S. markets, which may pressure growth through 2026.

Gilead’s acquisition strategy appears well-aligned with its goal of building a diversified, innovation-driven portfolio.

Competition for GILD in the Cell Therapy Space

Biotech giant Bristol Myers BMY has a strong cell-therapy portfolio with therapies like Breyanzi and Abecma.

Breyanzi (lisocabtagene maraleucel) is a CAR T cell therapy developed for the treatment of relapsed or refractory large B-cell lymphoma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, follicular lymphoma and mantle cell lymphoma.

Breyanzi surpassed $1 billion in annualized sales in 2025, reflecting adoption in large B-cell lymphoma and recent label expansions. The strong uptake of Breyanzi boosted BMY’s top line.

Another approved CAR T therapy is Novartis’ NVS Kymriah, which is approved for acute lymphoblastic leukemia that is either relapsing or refractory. It is also used in patients with LBCL or FL, two types of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, who have relapsed or are refractory after undergoing at least two other kinds of treatment.

NVS’ Kymriah recorded sales of $381 million in 2025, down 14% from 2024 due to competitive pressure.

NVS is also developing another CAR T cell therapy, YTB323, for LBCL.

GILD’s Price Performance, Valuation and Estimates

Shares of GILD have surged 11.5% year to date compared with the industry’s growth of 1.6%.

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Going by the price/earnings ratio, GILD’s shares currently trade at 15.4x forward earnings, higher than its mean of 11.37x but lower than 16.99x for the large-cap pharma industry.

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The bottom-line estimate for 2026 has moved up to $8.66 from $8.63 over the past 30 days, while that for 2027 has moved north to $9.63 from $9.59 in the same time frame.

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GILD currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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Novartis AG (NVS): Free Stock Analysis Report

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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