Daiichi Sankyo To Acquire Plexxikon

Daiichi Sankyo Co. has entered an agreement to acquire Plexxikon, Inc. for $805 million up-front, with milestone payments associated with the approval of PLX4032 totaling an additional $130 million. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions.

Plexxikon’s lead program is PLX4032 is an oral drug that targets the oncogenic BRAF mutation present in about half of melanoma cancers and about 8% of all solid tumors. Plexxikon and development partner, Roche, plan to file for market approval in the U.S. and Europe this year, along with a companion diagnostic. Following the acquisition, Daiichi Sankyo will retain the U.S. co-promotion rights for PLX4032.

“With the acquisition of Plexxikon, we see an opportunity to accelerate the building of our oncology franchise, particularly with the opportunity to co-promote PLX4032 as a very exciting personalized medicine,” said Joji Nakayama, chief executive officer of Daiichi Sankyo, Co. “Moreover, we have been impressed by the productivity and quality of Plexxikon’s pipeline, and discovery and early development capabilities. We intend to provide a high degree of independence to the Plexxikon group to support their continuing success.”

Plexxikon’s pipeline also includes additional products in development to treat cancer, including PLX3397 an oral, selective kinase inhibitor currently in Phase I development for Hodgkin lymphoma, AML, glioblastoma and metastatic breast cancer, and PLX5622, an oral agent entering Phase I for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.