Gilead Sciences of Foster City, California, bolstered its oncology franchise in mid-December, with the $510-million cash purchase of Mississauga, Ontario–based YM Biosciences. Less than a month later, Gilead struck a deal potentially worth more than $1.1 billion with Rockville, Maryland–based antibody maker MacroGenics to develop and commercialize 'dual-affinity retargeting' products for four undisclosed targets. Although Gilead's past attempts to diversify beyond its anti-viral franchise have provided few returns, analysts are bullish about its current forays into cancer therapeutics. “Oncology is a very compelling area right now,” says Richard Purkiss, an analyst at London-based Atlantic Equities. “Gilead has netted some interesting assets.” YM's lead product is CYT387, an orally administered inhibitor of both the JAK1 and JAK2 kinases. Positive interim results were reported from a phase 1/2 trial of CYT387 in myelofibrosis. Jason Kolbert, analyst at New York–based Maxim Group, says that on the basis of available data, he thinks CYT387 has comparable efficacy to Wilmington, Delaware–based Incyte's Jakafi (ruxolitinib; currently approved for myelofibrosis) but may cause fewer side effects. Gilead's lead oncology compound is idelalisib, a phosphoinositide-3 kinase (PI3K) delta isoform inhibitor currently in phase 3 studies for lymphoma.