Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. has announced an agreement with Astex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. to acquire Astex via an all-cash tender offer. The total purchase price of $866 million is based on the treasury stock calculation method and a tender offer of US $8.50 per share for all outstanding common shares.

Otsuka aims to enhance its discovery and development of drugs with novel working mechanisms by combining Astex’s fragment-based drug discovery technology with Otsuka’s own R&D strengths in areas such as central nervous system diseases. The fragment-based discovery technology, named PYRAMID™, is one of the most significant new drug discovery platforms of the past two decades and holds significant promise to bring new therapies more quickly to awaiting patients and physicians. Otsuka will also strengthen its promising oncology development portfolio and inline oncology offerings.

Dr. Taro Iwamoto, Otsuka Pharmaceutical’s President and Representative Director, remarked, “I hope that this acquisition of Astex will strengthen not only our cancer portfolio but also our drug discovery research in the central nervous system field, through the acquisition of Astex’s fragment-based drug design technology. Astex’s unique fragment-based drug discovery technology and clinical oncology research and development capabilities, born out of the passion of its researchers, exemplify our corporate mottos and belief in “Sozosei (Creativity) and Jissho (Proof through Execution). I would like Otsuka Pharmaceutical to continue to respect Astex’s uniqueness and leverage it to bring further growth for Otsuka Pharmaceutical.”