Japanese drugmaker Daiichi Sankyo (4568.T) will buy privately held Plexxikon Inc of the United States for $805 million dollars, gaining a late-stage melanoma treatment as it looks to bolster its fledgling cancer pipeline. Daiichi Sankyo will also pay up to an additional $130 million in launch milestones for the skin cancer drug PLX4032, currently in Phase III trials, which Plexxikon is jointly developing with Roche (ROG.VX), and it will gain access to Plexxikon's promising technology platform. It will have co-promotion rights with Roche in the United States for PLX4032 and plans to use its existing sales network, but Roche will have sole rights to market the drug in Europe.
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