Gilead Sciences has agreed to acquire YM BioSciences for US$2.95 per share in cash in a deal that values the Canadian company at approximately US$510 M. The acquisition will further expand Gilead’s oncology pipeline with the addition of YM’s lead drug candidate CYT387, an oral, once-daily, selective JAK1/JAK2 (Janus kinases 1 and 2) inhibitor under development for myelofibrosis. Gilead plans to initiate a pivotal Phase III trial of the drug in the second half of 2013 and to explore the drug’s potential in other myeloproliferative diseases.