Assembly Biosciences Exercises Option to Share US Costs, Profits for Herpes Program With Gilead

05:14 PM EDT, 09/08/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Assembly Biosciences (ASMB) said Tuesday it exercised a contract option to share 40% of the US development costs and profits for its recurrent genital herpes treatment pipeline under an existing partnership with Gilead Sciences (GILD). Gilead will retain sole responsibility for further clinical development and commercialization of the candidate drugs, while Assembly Biosciences remains eligible to secure up to $280 million in receive up to $280 million in regulatory and commercial milestones and tiered royalties on net sales outside the US, the company said. The GS-1179 candidate is expected to begin Phase 2 clinical testing by late 2026, with current liquidity, supplemented by an $75 million option continuation payment from Gilead, expected to sustain corporate operations into 2029, Assembly Biosciences added.