Jounce Therapeutics soars as Gilead amends immunotherapy deal

Shares of Jounce Therapeutics (Nasdaq: JNCE) were trading up a massive 72% at $1.27 pre-market, on the news that biotech major Gilead Sciences (Nasdaq: GILD) is amending an existing license agreement for GS-1811 (formerly JTX-1811), enabling Gilead to buy out remaining contingent payments potentially due under the license agreement executed in August 2020.

As part of the transaction, certain operational obligations of the parties related to GS-1811, an anti-CCR8 antibody, set forth in the license agreement have also been terminated. Gilead will acquire certain related intellectual property, including all outstanding rights of Jounce to GS-1811. GS-1811, a potentially first-in-class immunotherapy, is designed to selectively deplete immunosuppressive tumor-infiltrating T regulatory cells in the tumor microenvironment and is currently in Phase I clinical development as a possible treatment for patients with solid tumors.

Jounce will receive proceeds of $67 million for this transaction, and Gilead will be solely responsible for all further research, development and commercialization of GS-1811 globally, and is no longer entitled to receive the remaining contingent payments of up to $645 million in milestones and royalties under the original agreement.