With an assist from AstraZeneca, the salvage crew at Sierra bets another $216M they can resurrect an old Gilead JAK drug

Almost a decade ago, Gilead shelled out $510 million in cash for YM BioSciences and its only drug, a JAK inhibitor for a rare type of bone marrow cancer called myelofibrosis. But when the candidate didn’t show any benefit over its rival, Incyte’s Jakafi, the molecule ended up in the hands of Sierra Oncology.