Daiichi Sankyo Company has concluded an agreement
to acquire Plexxikon Inc., a privately held pharmaceutical company based in Berkeley, California
with a late-stage oncology product, PLX4032, as well as a promising pipeline
and technology platform.
“The acquisition of Plexxikon not only accelerates our
entry into the oncology market but strengthens our pipeline and 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,” said
Daiichi Sankyo CEO, Joji Nakayama. “We look forward to working with the
esteemed scientists and management team at Plexxikon, who are leaders in the
discovery and development of novel small molecule pharmaceuticals to treat
human disease.”
With the acquisition, Daiichi Sankyo obtains certain
co-promotion rights in the United
States for PLX4032, which is being jointly
developed by Plexxikon and Roche. Interim results from a Phase III trial
demonstrated that PLX4032 met co-primary endpoints of overall survival and
progression-free survival among patients with previously untreated metastatic
melanoma expressing the BRAF mutation.
The acquisition of Plexxikon is consistent with the Daiichi
Sankyo commitment to address diverse unmet medical needs, including
personalizing medicine to maximize patient benefits. PLX4032 is an elegant
example of a targeted therapeutic designed to be administered to patients
likely to respond to treatment on the basis of a companion diagnostic test that
can detect the presence of a specific genetic mutation.
In addition, the Daiichi Sankyo R&D Division will draw
upon the Plexxikon proprietary Scaffold-Based Drug Discovery™ Platform to
develop promising new treatments. This unique, systematic, cost-effective
platform uses structural data to guide chemistry to develop early leads for
multiple targets.
Plexxikon is also conducting Phase I studies of promising
kinase inhibitors for rheumatoid arthritis and metastatic cancer. These
and other early-stage compounds, in addition to PLX4032, will ultimately
strengthen the global Daiichi Sankyo business presence.
The purchase price for Plexxikon is approximately 805
million US dollars on a debt-free basis and will be internally funded.
Additional potential payments totaling approximately 130 million US dollars
will be made based on near-term launch milestones with respect to PLX4032 in
malignant melanoma. Closure of the transaction is subject to clearance under
the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Antitrust Improvements Act and customary closing
conditions. The acquisition is expected to conclude promptly after receipt of
HSR clearance.
Established in 2001, Plexxikon Inc. is based in Berkeley, California,
employs approximately 45 employees and has formed key partnerships with
Genentech/Roche. The company’s main therapeutic research areas are
oncology, CNS disorders as well as auto-immune, neuro-inflammatory and cardio-renal
diseases.
