Daiichi Sankyo scouting for new biotech buyouts, partnerships

With late-stage data on an experimental blood thinner with blockbuster potential due next year and ambitious plans to push revenue, Daiichi Sankyo's European chief tells Bloomberg that the Japanese pharma company would like to do some more deals along the lines of its $235 million buyout of Germany's U3 Pharma AG.

Reinhard Bauer made it clear that he's not on the lookout for any generic drugs or meds already approved for use. U3, which Daiichi Sankyo bought two years ago, provided the pharma company with antibodies for breast, colon and lung cancers. And the blood thinner edoxaban could gin more than a billion dollars a year in new revenue. Edoxaban would also offer new competition to Bayer and Boehringer Ingelheim.

"We're still looking energetically for venture capital companies and biotechnology companies that could lead to acquisitions or partnerships," Bauer told the business news wire.

U3 Pharma was founded by Professor Axel Ullrich of the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, whose gene technology and oncology research helped lead to the development of Herceptin and Sutent.

- here's the story from Bloomberg