Astellas Venture Management, the corporate venturing unit of Japan-based drugs company Astellas, has made the ninth exit with the sale of portfolio company Plexxikon to Daiichi Sankyo for up to $935m.
Japan-based drugs group Daiichi Sankyo is paying $805m in cash and a further $130m in performance fees for oncology treatment company Plexxikon.
Joji Nakayama, chief executive of Daiichi Sankyo, which has only one reference to corporate venturing by providing $60m to Kearney Venture Associates in 2006, said: "The acquisition of Plexxikon not only accelerates our entry into the oncology market but strengthens our pipeline and will enable us to achieve our mid- and long-term business objectives of providing world-class, innovative pharmaceuticals in core areas of unmet medical need."
Plexxikon said it had raised $67m from Astellas Venture Management, South Korean conglomerate Kumho Asiana Group, Japanese financial services group Daiwa’s Corporate Investment unit (previously known as Daiwa SMBC Capital until its demerger from Sumitomo last year and before that as NIF SMBC Ventures) and venture capital (VC) firms Advanced Technology Ventures, Alta Partners, CW Ventures, GIMV, Walden International and Pappas Ventures.
In 2006, Daiichi Sankyo acquired Zepharma, the over-the-counter drugs unit of Astellas. This was separate to Astellas Venture’s portfolio company exits, which have included Intradigm, AkaRx, Epix Pharmaceuticals, Memory Pharmaceuticals, Ception Therapeutics and Cytomyx.
It is also the second deal involving Alta, as Daiichi had acquired the VC’s Germany-based portfolio company U3 Pharma for €150m ($235m) in May 2008.