Assembly Biosciences announces $30.1M investment, funding from Gilead

Assembly Biosciences (ASMB) announced an equity investment of $20.1M by Gilead Sciences (GILD) to purchase additional Assembly Bio common stock and an amendment to their collaboration to advance the research and development of novel antiviral therapies with $10M in accelerated funding. With the new equity investment, Gilead increases its equity ownership of Assembly Bio to 29.9%. Funding received from Gilead will support the advancement of Assembly Bio’s clinical pipeline of antiviral therapeutic candidates for herpesviruses, hepatitis D virus and hepatitis B virus. Assembly Bio expects to release data from multiple ongoing clinical studies in the coming year, including the interim Phase 1b proof-of-concept data readout for ABI-5366 projected for the first half of 2025. The amendment to the collaboration agreement adjusts the option timepoints and option payment structure for ABI-6250, an orally bioavailable viral entry inhibitor for the treatment of HDV, to support updated clinical strategies to accelerate and optimize program development. As part of this amendment, $10M of option-related payments for this program have been accelerated. Assembly Bio will receive $10M in accelerated funding under the collaboration agreement and a $20.1M equity investment from Gilead. This equity investment at a premium will increase the percentage of the outstanding voting stock of Assembly Bio owned by Gilead from approximately 19.9% to 29.9% as of the date of closing. The accelerated funding amount reflects a portion of option-related payments that Assembly Bio is eligible to receive for ABI-6250 and will be creditable against future payments under the collaboration agreement. In addition, Gilead and Assembly Bio have amended the option-related payments and option timepoints for this program to support potential accelerated development strategies. The scope of Gilead’s option and Assembly Bio’s right to opt-in to share profits and costs in the United States are unchanged. With the accelerated $10M payment resulting from the collaboration amendment and the $20.1M additional equity investment, Assembly Bio expects its cash runway to extend to mid-2026.