AstraZeneca lands $6.9bn deal for 'transformative' cancer drug

A major deal has been struck between pharma players AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo to develop and market a potentially transformative cancer medicine.

The deal, which could reach amounts of up to $6.90 billion will involve both companies jointly developing Daiichi Sankyo’s antibody drug conjugate (ADC) [fam-]trastuzumab deruxtecan as a monotherapy or a combination therapy worldwide. Both companies will commercialise the drug across the world, except in Japan where Daiichi Sankyo will maintain exclusive rights.

The drug is currently in development to treat multiple HER2 expressing cancers including breast and gastric cancer. [Fam-] trastuzumab deruxtecan is also being developed to treat non-small cell lung and colorectal cancer.  

In contrast to traditional chemotherapy treatments, trastuzumab deruxtecan has been designed to target and delivery chemotherapy inside cancer cells, helping to reduce side-effets from the treatment.

AstraZeneca will pay Daiichi Sankyo $1.35 billion as an upfront payment, before making contingent payments of up to $5.5 billion.

“[Fam-] trastuzumab deruxtecan is the flagship asset in our oncology pipeline created by our relentless pursuit of science and technology, the most important strengths of our company,” said George Nakayama, representative director, chairman and CEO of Daiichi Sankyo. “Through the strategic collaboration with AstraZeneca, a company with a wealth of global experience and expertise in oncology, we will combine our respective skill sets to maximize the value of [fam-] trastuzumab deruxtecan, and accelerate the establishment of our global oncology business. By aiming to provide new treatment options across a wide range of cancers as soon as possible, we will maximize our contribution to patients with cancer and their families around the world.”

“We believe that [fam-] trastuzumab deruxtecan could become a transformative new medicine for the treatment of HER2positive breast and gastric cancers,” said Pascal Soriot, chief executive officer, AstraZeneca. “In addition, [fam-] trastuzumab deruxtecan has the potential to redefine breast cancer treatment as the first therapy for HER2 low expressing tumors. It also has the potential to treat other HER2 mutated or HER2 overexpressing tumors, including lung and colorectal cancers. We are proud to be working with Daiichi Sankyo, a long-term collaborator of AstraZeneca in other disease areas.”