01 March 2011

Wedding announcement: Daiichi Sankyo and Plexxikon

Practical Fragments has highlighted several mergers and acquisitions of fragment-based companies over the years, but yesterday’s announcement that Daiichi Sankyo plans to acquire Plexxikon for $805 million in up-front cash plus an additional $130 million in near-term milestones is definitely the largest. You may recall that PLX-4032, Plexxikon’s B-Raf kinase inhibitor, is currently in Phase 3 trials and a favorite to be the first fragment-based drug approved.

According to FierceBiotech, Plexxikon has raised a total of $67 million in venture funding, so a number of investors are likely popping Champagne. This is a nice validation of the value of fragment-based drug discovery, so let’s all raise a glass!

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