Daiichi Licenses ArQule Cancer Compound

ArQule, Inc. and Daiichi Sankyo, Co. Ltd. have entered a license agreement under which Daiichi obtains exclusive rights for the development, manufacture and marketing of ARQ 092 on a worldwide basis. ARQ 092 is the first compound to result from the companies’ November 2008 research collaboration using AKIP (ArQule Kinase Inhibitor Platform) technology to generate selective and potent small molecule kinase inhibitors.

ARQ 092 will be studied in cancer patients to identify its efficacy in targeting the AKT signaling pathway, which plays a role in regulating cell growth, survival, migration and angiogenesis. Patient enrollment in the Phase I trial is scheduled to open soon.

“The ARQ 092 collaboration builds on the success of our other partnerships with ArQule, including the co-development of our c-MET inhibitor, tivantinib, which is currently being studied in a Phase III trial as a treatment for non-squamous, non-small cell lung cancer,” said Dr. Kazunori Hirokawa, global head of the R&D Unit of Daiichi Sankyo. “In addition to our own internal R&D capabilities, our strategic alliance partnerships, such as our collaborations with ArQule, allow us to combine forces to move more programs into clinical trials toward our common goal of improving and extending lives.”