Ariad is engaged in the discovery, development and commercialization of precision therapies for patients with rare cancers.
The company is working on new medicines to advance the treatment of rare forms of chronic and acute leukemia, lung cancer and other rare cancers.
The acquisition would expand Takeda’s cancer holdings into solid tumors with two targeted therapies that include leukemia drug Iclusig (ponatinib) and the non-small-cell cancer candidate (NSCLC) brigatinib.
Iclusig is a kinase inhibitor indicated for chronic-phase, accelerated-phase, or blast-phase chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) or Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Ph+ ALL) in which no other tyrosine kinase inhibitor therapy is indicated.
It is also indicated for T315I-positive CML (chronic phase, accelerated phase, or blast phase) or T315I-positive Ph+ ALL.
Brigatinib is in development for the treatment of patients with anaplastic lymphoma kinase positive (ALK+) NSCLC in which disease is resistant to the marketed drug Xalkori (crizotinib).
Takeda president and CEO Christophe Weber said: “The acquisition of Ariad is a unique opportunity that will enable us to positively impact the lives of more patients worldwide, advance our strategic priorities and generate attractive returns for our shareholders.
“This is a very exciting time for Takeda as we will broaden our hematology portfolio and transform our global solid tumor franchise through the addition of two innovative targeted therapies.”
The Japanese firm will also leverage Ariad’s research and development capabilities and platform.
Ariad president and CEO Paris Panayiotopoulos: “We are very pleased to combine with Takeda, which will allow us to not only accelerate our mission to discover, develop, and deliver precision therapies to patients with rare cancers, but also deliver meaningful value to our shareholders through a substantial cash premium.”
Image: Takeda agrees to acquire Ariad Pharmaceuticals for $5.2bn. Photo: courtesy of stockimages at FreeDigitalPhotos.net.