About 18 months after Astellas dumped its development partnership with Ambit Biosciences on a now late-stage drug for acute myeloid leukemia, Daiichi Sankyo has stepped in to snap up the San Diego-based biotech for up to $410 million. The deal helps beef up the Japanese company's oncology pipeline.
Daiichi Sankyo is paying $315 million in cash--or $15 a share--for Ambit ($AMBI), with the rest in contingent value rights based on commercialization goals. The CVR is worth $4.50.
The deal is bound to please many Ambit shareholders, who saw the stock price close Friday at $8.20. The cash portion of the buyout deal represents an 83% premium over the close.
The prime asset that drove this deal was Ambit's quizartinib (AC220).
At the end of 2012, Ambit, a 2006 Fierce 15 company, reported that two cohorts of relapsed AML patients who were FLT3-ITD-positive demonstrated signs of a response to the drug. About half of each group had a "composite complete response" and one in three "FLT3-ITD positive patients who had relapsed or were refractory after two prior lines of treatment or after a prior hematopoietic stem cell transplant received a potentially curative HSCT following treatment with quizartinib." There was no control arm in the study.
Ambit has stumbled badly along the way. The biotech was forced to take a big discount when it went public shortly after the Astellas pact fell through, pricing shares at $8 in the spring of 2013. Its final venture round raised $50 million, with OrbiMed Advisors joined Aisling Capital, Apposite Healthcare, GIMV, GrowthWorks, Forward Ventures, MedImmune Ventures, Radius Ventures and Roche Ventures in the round.
Joji Nakayama |
"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," said Daiichi Sankyo CEO Joji Nakayama. "Long-term success in oncology depends upon three pillars fostering development of our in-house molecules, exploring mutually beneficial partnerships and executing strategic purchases, such as Ambit Biosciences, which follows our acquisitions of U3 Pharma and Plexxikon."
- here's the press release
Special Report: 2006 Fierce 15 - Ambit Biosciences