Calithera Expands Oncology Portfolio with Takeda Drugs Purchase

Calithera Biosciences has struck a deal with Takeda Pharmaceutical to acquire two experimental cancer drugs, sapanisertib and mivavotinib.

Sapanisertib is a highly selective enzyme inhibitor that attacks cancer cells containing certain gene mutations. The drug is slated to be investigated in a phase 2 trial early next year as a monotherapy for patients suffering from squamous nonsmall-cell lung cancer.

Mivavotinib, which inhibits spleen tyrosine kinase (SYK) — an enzyme that plays an important role in signaling between cells — will be evaluated in another mid-stage study in 2022 for patients suffering from diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Patients with this disease subset have poor prognoses with standard-of-care therapies.

Under the purchase deal, Calithera will pay $45 million upfront, plus future milestones-based payments and royalties on sales.