Acquisition is based on the prospects for Immunomedics’ Trodelvy, but regulatory changes, manufacturing challenges, and research dynamics could upset even the best-laid plans.

It has been a tough couple of months for the Belgian biotech since the FDA surprisingly rebuffed its JAK inhibitor filgotinib but promising data on the oral autotaxin inhibitor ziritaxestat helped soften the blow and drive up Galapagos stock.

The company paid twice Immunomedics’ last closing stock price to access Trodelvy, approved for triple-negative breast cancer with potential in other solid tumors as monotherapy and in combinations.

Continuing parent firm Gilead’s busy deal-making year in immuno-oncology, Kite gets option rights to new targets. Boehringer teams with Israel’s BiomX in IBD research.