Daiichi Sankyo to acquire Plexxikon

Daiichi Sankyo is expanding its offering of oncology products via the acquisition of the privately-held US pharmaceutical company Plexxikon.

The transaction has been valued at $805 million (493.7 million pounds), with an additional $130 million in milestone payments potentially set to be paid based on the future launch of certain products.

By acquiring Plexxikon, Daiichi Sankyo gains commercial access to PLX4032, a new metastatic melanoma treatment that is being developed in partnership with Roche and has demonstrated a positive performance in phase III trials.

The firm's portfolio also includes the proprietary Scaffold-Based Drug Discovery Platform and several kinase inhibitors for rheumatoid arthritis and metastatic cancer that are in phase I testing.

Joji Nakayama, chief executive officer of Daiichi Sankyo, said the deal "not only accelerates our entry into the oncology market but … will enable us to achieve our mid and long-term business objectives of providing world-class, innovative pharmaceuticals in core areas of unmet medical need".

In January 2011, the company began a phase III trial of ARQ 197, a new lung cancer treatment it is developing alongside ArQule.