Daiichi Sankyo, ArQule team to conduct cancer treatment research

WOBURN, Mass. A Woburn, Mass.-based company has entered into an agreement with Japanese drug maker Daiichi Sankyo to develop drugs to treat cancer.

ArQule will receive $75 million in cash upfront from Daiichi. The two companies will develop ARQ 197, an orally administered, small-molecule inhibitor of the c-Met receptor tyrosine kinase.

“We are delighted to welcome Daiichi Sankyo as a partner in our shared quest to bring innovative cancer therapeutics to patients and their physicians,” ArQule chief executive officer Paolo Pucci said in a statement. “With this announcement, we complete the ARQ 197 partnership process and set the stage to bring the ARQ 197 development program to the next level.”

Daiichi recently acquired Indian generic drug maker Ranbaxy.