Otsuka Bolsters Oncology Stable With IV Busulfex Acquisition

Otsuka looks to be strengthening its oncology business with the acquisition of PDL BioPharma’s IV Busulfex (busulfan), the company’s second cancer product acquisition of the year.

Otsuka purchased the rights for the first-in-class therapy for use in combination with cyclophosphamide for conditioning prior to allogeneic hematopoietic progenitor cell transplantion for $200 million in cash.

Earlier this year, Otsuka purchased the U.S. rights for GW Pharmaceuticals’ cannabinoid cancer pain treatment Sativex (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol/cannabidiol), which is currently in phase II/III studies, for $273 million.

Gaining its second cancer product “accelerates Otsuka’s global oncology business,” Otsuka President Tatsuo Higuchi said.

Already sold in more than 40 countries, Otsuka plans to seek additional indications for Busulfex through the company’s U.S. affiliate Otsuka Pharmaceutical Development & Commercialization.

When PDL announced its plans to divest its assests in October, Susquehanna Financial Group estimated the combined value of PDL’s Busulfex and Retavase at $142 million. A Susquehanna Financial Group analyst note characterized the “premium price paid” for the Busulfex acquisition as promising for PDL’s remaining products on sale.

From the year ended September 30, 2007, Busulfex sales were $29.4 million, up 29.7 percent from the prior year.

– Daniel Poppy (d.poppy@elsevier.com)

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