Japanese pharma to buy US drugmaker for $2.4 bln

Japanese Ono Pharmaceutical buys the American cancer drug developer Deciphera Pharmaceuticals in one of the largest acquisitions in the industry so far this year.

Ono pays 2.4 billion dollars to take over all shares in the Massachusetts-based company in a deal that is expected to be completed during the third quarter of the year.

With the purchase, Ono acquires the already approved cancer drug Qinlock, a kinase inhibitor for the treatment of gastrointestinal stromal cell tumor (GIST), and vimseltinib, which is a drug candidate under evaluation in phase III as a treatment for tenosynovial giant cell tumor (TGCT).

– We expect that this acquisition of Deciphera will not only expand Ono's target oncology portfolio, but also accelerate Ono's business development in the United States and Europe, and strengthen kinase drug discovery research, Ono Chief Executive Officer Gyo Sagara said in a statement.

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