How many partners does Daiichi Sankyo have?
Like most pharmaceutical companies Daiichi Sankyo does not list its exact number of partners. According to its Annual Report for 2009 the company, however, listed that of its 29 compounds in its current product pipeline 5 (17%) were being developed jointly with other companies, and 13 (45%) of the compounds had originated from external companies.
How does Daiichi Sankyo source its partners?
Daiichi Sankyo has a dedicated alliance management team for sourcing and managing its partnerships.
In 2006 the company established the Daiichi Sankyo Healthcare Venture Fund to improve its approaches to US and European life science companies and strengthen its research and development activities. One of the Fund’s objectives is to obtain targets and technology for innovative drug discovery for the company. As a a sole pharmaceutical partner participating in the Fund, Daiichi Sankyo has various preferential exclusive rights to any deals undertaken by the Fund. Through the Fund Daiichi Sankyo acquires detailed information about portfolio companies and potential partners for its research and development activities in the early stage.
Who are Daiichi Sankyo’s partners?
Some of Daiichi Sankyo’s partners are: Amgen, ArQule, Ausbio Pharma, BioInvent, Crucell NV, DSM Biologics, Eli Lilly, Forest Laboratories, GE Healthcare, Gene Bridges GmbH, KAI Pharmaceuticals, Kissei, Luitpold Pharmaceuticals, MDS Pharma Services, Merz, Mitsubishi Tanabe, MorphoSys, Ranbaxy Laboratories, Sanofi-aventis, Seattle Genetics, Toray and YM BioSciences.
What collaborations has Daiichi Sankyo entered into over the past few years?
- In November 2009 BioInvent and Daiichi Sankyo signed a license and discovery agreement to develop therapeutic antibodies against multiple targets. BioInvent is to work with Daiichi both in Japan and with the company’s German affiliate, U3 Pharma. The agreement granted Daiichi broad access to BioInvent’s discovery and development technology platform and in-house antibody expertise. Daiichi is to fund all research work. BioInvent is to get an up-front access fee and annual maintenance fees for its antibody library plus success-based milestones. It is also eligible for sales royalties and retains certain co-promotion rights in Scandinavia and the Baltic countries.
- In October 2009 Daiichi Sankyo and MorphoSys AG established an alliance in the discovery and development of therapeutic antibodies for hospital-acquired (nosocomial) infections. MorphoSys and Daiichi Sankyo are to collaboratively apply HuCAL PLATINUM, the latest and most powerful version of MorphoSys’s antibody libraries and novel approaches to generate optimised, fully human therapeutic antibodies against targets associated with nosocomial infections. Daiichi Sankyo is also funding the development of certain infectious disease specific technology at MorphoSys, which will be used to identify the most effective antibody-based drugs. Total payments under the agreement include committed license fees and research and development funding in addition to success-based development milestones. MorphoSys also stands to receive royalties on sales of marketed drugs emerging from the collaboration. The two companies started another alliance in 2006.
- In October 2009 Mitsubishi Tanabe and Daiichi Sankyo entered a sub-license marketing agreement for the drug Kremezinо for chronic renal failure.
- In March 2009 Gene Bridges GmbH and Daiichi Sankyo signed a commercial license agreement for the use of Gene Bridges’ Red/ET recombination technology. The Red/ET recombination technology, patented in Japan under the title “Novel DNA Cloning Method”, can be used to generate targeting vectors or modifying E. coli chromosomes.
- In November 2008, ArQule and Daiichi Sankyo entered into two agreements that form a strategic relationship for the development and discovery of novel oncology therapeutics. Under the first of these agreements, ArQule and Daiichi Sankyo are jointly conducting research, clinical trials and marketing ARQ 197, a proprietary, orally administered, small molecule inhibitor of the c-Met receptor tyrosine kinase, in human cancer indications in the US, Europe, South America and the rest of the world, excluding Japan, China (including Hong Kong), South Korea and Taiwan. The agreement provided for a US$60 million cash upfront licensing payment from Daiichi Sankyo to ArQule. In addition, it included significant development and sales milestone payments. ArQule and Daiichi Sankyo are to share equally the costs of Phase 2 and Phase 3 clinical studies, with ArQule’s share of Phase 3 costs payable solely from milestone and royalty payments by Daiichi Sankyo. Upon commercialisation, ArQule will receive tiered royalties from Daiichi Sankyo on net sales of ARQ 197. ArQule retains the option to participate in the commercialization of ARQ 197 in the US. The second agreement was a research collaboration, exclusive license and co-commercialisation deal whereby ArQule would apply its proprietary technology and know-how from the ArQule Kinase Inhibitor Discovery (AKIP™) platform for the discovery of therapeutic compounds that selectively inhibit certain kinases. The agreement defined two such kinase targets for which Daiichi Sankyo has an option to license compounds directed to these targets following the completion of certain pre-clinical studies. The agreement provided a US$15 million upfront payment, undisclosed payments in research support for the first and second years of the collaboration, licensing fees for compounds discovered as a result of this research, milestone payments related to clinical development, regulatory review and sales, and royalty payments. ArQule retained the option to co-commercialise licensed products in the US.
- In July 2008 Seattle Genetics and Daiichi Sankyo entered into an exclusive, worldwide collaboration agreement for the development of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) targeting a single antigen found on multiple types of solid tumors. Seattle Genetics received an upfront payment of US$4 million, and is entitled to development milestones and royalties on worldwide sales of any ADC products. Daiichi Sankyo is responsible for research, product development, manufacturing and commercialisation of all ADC products under the collaboration. Seattle Genetics is also receiving material supply and annual maintenance fees as well as research support payments for providing assistance to Daiichi Sankyo in developing ADC products.
- In December 2007 Daiichi Sankyo signed a licensing agreement with DSM Biologics, a business unit of DSM Pharmaceutical Products, and Crucell NV for PER.C6. The license allows Daiichi Sankyo to use the PER.C6 cell line in their early stage research to identify new antibodies and for the production of preclinical grade material.
- In July 2007 Amgen and Daiichi Sankyo entered a collaboration and license agreement for the development and commercialisation of denosumab in Japan. Under the agreement, Daiichi Sankyo gained exclusive rights to develop and commercialise denosumab in Japan in post-menopausal osteoporosis and oncology with the potential for additional indications. As part of the agreement, Amgen receives exclusive worldwide rights to certain Daiichi Sankyo intellectual property to the extent applicable to denosumab. Amgen received an upfront payment of US$20 million. Daiichi Sankyo is responsible for all development costs for denosumab in Japan and is to pay approximately US$150 million of expected worldwide development costs for denosumab through 2009. In consideration of its intellectual property, Daiichi Sankyo is also eligible to receive milestone payments dependent on the approval of denosumab in the European Union or Japan, in two indications. Under the agreement Daiichi Sankyo is to pay Amgen royalties on annual net sales of denosumab in Japan in amounts commensurate with a major late stage product for the Japan market.
- In February 2007, Daiichi Sankyo and Sanofi-aventis agreed to jointly commercialise Plavix (clopidogrel), Sanofi-Aventis’s blockbuster antiplatelet agent.
- In July 2006 Daiichi Sankyo licensed the compound nimotuzumab, an anti-EGFR humanized antibody, from YM Biosciences. Under the agreement, YM Biosciences received an up-front payment of US$14.5 million and is eligible to significant milestone payments at certain stages of development for each of a number of indications as well as payments based on supply of nimotuzumab and sales performance in the territory. Daiichi is developing nimotuzumab for the Japanese market in several cancer indications. In June 2009 Daiichi Sankyo initated enrollment of a Phase II trial evaluating nimotuzumab in combination with radiation therapy/cisplatin/vinorelbine in first-line curative intent patients with Stage III non-small-cell lung cancer.
- In January 2006 KAI Pharmaceuticals and Daiichi Sankyo entered an agreement for the global development and commercialisation of the compound KAI-9803, with an initial focus on cardiovascular disease. Currently in phase I/II trials the compound has been granted Fast Track status by the US FDA to assess safety and efficacy in patients with acute myocardial infarction undergoing reperfusion via balloon angioplasty. KAI received an initial upfront payment of US$20 million and is eligible for development and commercialisation milestones of up to US$300 million for two initial indications for KAI-9803, as well as milestone payments for future delta PKC inhibitors. Daiichi Sankyo is funding all future development, and has the global development and commercialisation rights to the compound, agreeing to pay KAI a double-digit royalty on sales. KAI has the option to perform certain clinical studies. In North America, KAI has the right to co-promote products in the acute care/hospital setting. KAI could also receive US$20 million from Daiichi Sankyo in research support over five years to identify new compounds, routes of administration and indications directed toward the inhibition of delta PKC.
- For the past decade Eli Lilly and Daiichi have been co-developing prasugrel (Effient), an investigational oral antiplatelet agent invented by Daiichi Sankyo and its Japanese research partner Ube Industries Ltd, as a potential treatment, initially for patients with acute coronary syndrome undergoing PCI. The drug received approval from the US FDA in July 2009.
