Gilead Exercises Option To License Nurix's Protein Degrader Molecule NX-0479

(RTTNews) - Biopharmaceutical companies Gilead Sciences, Inc. (GILD) and Nurix Therapeutics, Inc. (NRIX) announced Monday that Gilead has exercised its option to exclusively license Nurix's investigational targeted protein degrader molecule NX-0479.

This bivalent degrader, designated GS-6791, is the first development candidate resulting from the previously announced Nurix-Gilead collaboration to discover, develop, and commercialize a pipeline of innovative targeted protein degradation therapies.

Under the terms, for the NX-0479 option that Gilead is exercising, Nurix will receive an option exercise payment of $20 million and potentially could receive up to an additional $425 million in clinical, regulatory, and commercial milestone payments, as well as up to low double-digit tiered royalties on product net sales.

GS-6791 is a potent, selective, oral IRAK4 degrader that targets both the scaffold and kinase functions of the IRAK4 protein kinase to block inflammatory responses downstream of toll-like receptors (TLR) and the pro-inflammatory IL1 cytokine family of receptors (IL1Rs).

IRAK4 degradation has potential applications in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and other inflammatory diseases.