Gilead Sciences was an industry pioneer in infectious disease, bringing to market treatments that have helped turn HIV into a manageable condition and effectively cure hepatitis C. But it has struggled to branch out elsewhere — a foray into heart disease didn’t turn out well, for instance, and a long-running push into cancer hasn’t yet yielded the kind of dividends the company had hoped.
Those struggles haven't discouraged Gilead from using deals to bolster other parts of its portfolio. The company’s pipeline now includes more experimental medicines for cancer and inflammatory conditions than infectious diseases. And three acquisitions struck in quick succession in early 2026 have shown the company remains committed to growing beyond its roots in HIV.
On a conference call with analysts Tuesday, Gilead CEO Dan O’Day claimed these dealmaking moves have made the company’s portfolio the “most robust and diverse” it’s ever been.
“This reflects the success of the strategy that’s been shaping Gilead over the last six years,” O’Day said, adding that “thoughtful business development” can ensure Gilead starts the next decade with an “even more differentiated” arsenal.
The nearly $13 billion Gilead has spent on deals this year involves acquisitions of three companies: Arcellx, Ouro Medicines and Tubulis. Ouro is developing treatments for autoimmune disorders, while Arcellx and Tubulis are focused on cancer research. All have the kinds of medicines — cell therapies, antibody-drug conjugates and T cell engagers — Gilead has developed some level of expertise in over the years.
Gilead had long collaborated with Arcellx on a multiple myeloma therapy called anito-cel before agreeing in February to spend $7.8 billion to buy the whole company. That deal was announced ahead of an expected approval decision for anito-cel later this year. It also comes with questions, as the therapy will vie for market share against two marketed cell therapies from Johnson & Johnson and Bristol Myers Squibb.
Some analysts, though, are optimistic Gilead can grab a meaningful market share. TD Cowen’s Tyler Van Buren has written that anito-cel could be the best treatment in its class because of a potentially differentiated safety profile. In fourth-line multiple myeloma alone, anito-cel could tap into a $3.5 billion market, Mizuho’s Salim Syed wrote in a client note Tuesday.
Cindy Perettie, executive vice president of Gilead’s cell therapy division, added on Tuesday’s call that anito-cel’s potential in a $20 billion market for multiple myeloma cell therapies is “underappreciated.”
Tubulis, which Gilead announced a deal to acquire this week, has advanced an antibody-drug conjugate, or ADC, into Phase 2 testing in ovarian cancer. But Gilead executives claimed to be equally excited about Tubulis technology that could produce more stable and potent ADCs, as well as chemically link newer types of toxic payloads that current ADC approaches can’t.
“Given the novelty of these technologies, we suspect that favorable intellectual property likely justified a valuation premium to Tubulis’ platform,” Leerink Partners analyst Daina Graybosch wrote in a note to clients.
Gilead’s $1.7 billion buyout of Ouro, meanwhile, is primarily centered on a single asset called OM336 or gamgertamig that might be useful across an array of autoimmune diseases like hemolytic anemia or thrombocytopenia. These inflammatory-related diseases have been a recent focus of the company’s strategy, with nine drugs already in clinical trials.
“We think it's a really well differentiated asset with a lot of potential across the board in different B and plasma cell-driven disease,” Gilead medical chief Dietmar Berger said on the analyst call.
