Gilead’s endless oncology pivot continues

Back in 2017, when Gilead Sciences’ long-promised embrace of oncology had largely amounted to disappointment, the company brought in a Novartis veteran named Alessandro Riva to preside over a pivot. And he did, playing what the company said was a “critical role” in the $12 billion acquisition of Kite Pharma and its CAR-T therapies.

And yet now, four days into the tenure of Gilead’s new CEO, Riva is leaving to lead a spin-off of Glenmark Pharmaceuticals.

The timing is curious. Kite’s first CAR-T, approved about 18 months ago, hasn’t lived up to investors’ expectations in terms of revenue. And Roche, where Gilead CEO Daniel O’Day spent the last three decades, was among the few major cancer drug developers to avoid investing in CAR-Taltogether.

Gilead said it has yet to pick Riva’s successor, but whoever takes the job will inherit Big Biotech’s longest-running challenge: turning oncology into a reliable pillar of the company’s future.