Daiichi Sankyo to Buy Ambit to Boost Cancer Drug Pipeline

Daiichi Sankyo to Buy Ambit to Boost Cancer Drug Pipeline

Daiichi Sankyo Co. (4568) agreed to buy U.S.-based Ambit Biosciences Corp. (AMBI) for as much as $410 million to bolster its pipeline of cancer treatments.

The Tokyo-based drugmaker will pay $15 in cash per share, it said in a stock exchange statement today. Ambit stockholders will have the right to receive an additional payment of as much as $4.50 for each share they own if certain milestones are achieved.

The acquisition will give Daiichi Sankyo an experimental drug called quizartinib that is in late stage trials to treat the most common type of acute leukemia in adults. The Japanese company bought Germany’s U3 Pharma AG in 2008 and California-based Plexxikon Inc. in 2011 to add cancer therapies

Ambit’s quizartinib targets acute myeloid leukemia, which is projected to account for about 36 percent of all new leukemia cases in 2014, according to the statement. The condition results in uncontrolled growth of malignant white blood cells

“The acquisition of Ambit Biosciences further builds our presence in oncology to ensure we are delivering on our goal of providing world class, innovative pharmaceuticals in core areas of unmet medical need,” Daiichi Sankyo President and Chief Executive Officer Joji Nakayama said in the statement.