YM Biosciences

YM BioSciences Inc. was a Canadian drug development company primarily focused on advancing CYT-387, an orally administered inhibitor of both the JAK1 and JAK2 kinases, which have been implicated in a number of hematological and immune cell disorders including myeloproliferative neoplasms and inflammatory diseases as well as certain cancers. YM BioSciences also had several preclinical programs underway with candidates from its library of compounds identified through internal research conducted at YM BioSciences Australia.

The company also advanced other clinical-stage products, including Nimotuzumab, an EGFR-targeting monoclonal antibody, and CYT997, a vascular disrupting agent (VDA).

The company was listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange.

YM BioSciences was the first company from any major-market country to enter into a relationship with the Cuban Government for the development of a number of that country's biopharmaceuticals, with first licenses concluding in 1995. In 1994, the company created a joint venture with Centro de Inmunología Molecular (CCIMAB) in Cuba called CIMYM BioSciences. The joint venture developed the Nimotuzumab drug.

In February 2013, Gilead Sciences completed the acquisition of YM Biosciences for US$510 million.