Daiichi Sankyo acquires biotech firm U3 Pharma
Japanese company Daiichi Sankyo Co has entered into an agreement to acquire the privately held German biotechnology company U3 Pharma, which focuses on research into antibodies for the treatment of cancer, for Euro 150m .
Japanese company Daiichi Sankyo Co has entered into an agreement to acquire the privately held German biotechnology company U3 Pharma, which focuses on research into antibodies for the treatment of cancer, for Euro 150m .
U3 Pharma was founded in 2001 by Professor Axel Ullrich of the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, whose pioneering gene technology-based and oncology-focused research led to the development of the oncology blockbusters Herceptin and Sutent. U3 Pharma currently employs 27 people, the majority of whom work directly in r&d.
Its pipeline of novel targeted therapeutics includes programmes focusing on fully human antibodies as potential therapies for breast, lung and colorectal cancers, among others. The company's lead product, which is being co-developed with Amgen, is U3-1287 (AMG 888), the first fully human anti-HER3 monoclonal antibody (mAb) to inhibit oncogenic signalling and tumor proliferation. The companies intend to initiate clinical development of this compound this year.
Daiichi Sankyo's current novel therapeutics portfolio for worldwide commercialisation includes CS-1008, an oncologic agent to combat malignant neoplasms, which is in Phase 2.
For commercialisation only in Japan, Daiichi Sankyo has the rights to market denosumab, or AMG 162, which is licensed from Amgen. Daiichi Sankyo also has the exclusive rights in Japan to develop and market nimotuzumab, or DE 766, which is licensed from CIMYM Biosciences. This is an oncologic agent in Phase 1 to treat advanced solid malignancies.
"Our acquisition of U3 Pharma is an ideal strategic fit for our oncology portfolio," said Takashi Shoda, president and ceo of Daiichi Sankyo Co. "We currently have three human monoclonal antibodies in development. Additionally, we are expanding our joint research venture with MorphoSys for its advanced Human Combinatorial Antibody Library and its phage display technologies. One of our goals is to increase our presence in novel therapeutics in the oncology arena."