masshightech.com
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Millennium adding two cancer programs via Intellikine buy
By Lori Valigra, Mass High Tech correspondent
Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Company will add two cancer drug candidates as part of Japanese parent Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Ltd.’s acquisition of Intellikine Inc. of La Jolla, Calif., Takeda said today.
Takeda America Holdings Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Takeda, will pay cash for Intellikine, a privately-held company focused on small molecule drugs. The transaction is expected to be completed in January 2012. Takeda America will pay $190 million upfront for Intellikine and up to $120 million in additional potential clinical development milestone payments.
Cambridge-based Millennium, which is Takeda’s business unit responsible for global oncology strategy and development, will take on worldwide development responsibility for Intellikine’s INK128 and INK1117 drug candidate.
Intellikine’s most advanced drug candidate, INK128, a novel mTORC1/2 inhibitor, is expected to enter Phase 2 studies in 2012. The mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) is a key kinase (enzyme) that regulates many cellular processes including proliferation, protein synthesis and cellular metabolism. Another drug candidate, INK1117, a novel and selective inhibitor of the PI3Ka isoform, entered human clinical testing in September 2011. Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinases (PI 3-kinases or PI3Ks) are a family of enzymes involved in cellular functions such as cell growth, proliferation, differentiation, motility, survival and intracellular trafficking, which in turn are involved in cancer.
“INK128 and INK1117 are potential best-in-class inhibitors of critical pathways driving cancer cell growth,” Dr. Deborah Dunsire, president and CEO of Millennium, said when the acquisition plan was announced. “As single agents or in different combinations with novel molecules within our robust pipeline, we anticipate that these assets will be able to deliver transforming therapies to cancer patients.”
Takeda noted that it does not expect to revise earnings guidance for fiscal 2011 year in connection with the acquisition. |
