AstraZeneca says it will pay up to $6.9 billion to work with Daiichi Sankyo Co Ltd on a new experimental treatment for breast cancer.
Britain’s AstraZeneca plans to use some of the proceeds of a $3.5 billion share issue to fund the deal. Under the deal, AstraZeneca will make an upfront payment of $1.35 billion to Daiichi. They will share development and commercialization costs for the drug worldwide, with Daiichi retaining exclusive rights in Japan. AstraZeneca will also target patients with low levels of HER2, a much larger breast cancer subgroup with poor treatment options and the drug’s biggest market opportunity, as well as certain lung and gastric tumors.