Japan's Astellas has forged a deal to buy Santa Monica, CA-based Agensys for $387 million plus up to $150 million more in milestones. The deal gives Astellas new antibody technology for combating cancer. Agensys has a Phase Ib trial underway for one antibody plus several more preclinical candidates. Astellas is betting that antibodies will play an ever-growing role in cancer treatments, which are expected to command a $32 billion market by 2015.
"Agensys will be the cornerstone of our biologics efforts and an integral component of building our oncology efforts within our franchise," explained Masafumi Nogimori, CEO of Astellas.
- see this release for more
- check out the report on the deal