Hutchmed picks Takeda as fruquintinib partner, adding global reach

Making good on its pledge to find global partners for therapies in its pipeline as it undergoes a strategic shift, Hutchmed entered a deal giving Takeda worldwide ex-China rights to fruquintinib as the biotech seeks the cancer drug’s first approvals outside its home country.

Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. (Tokyo:4502; NYSE:TAK) will pay $400 million up front for most global rights to fruquintinib, an inhibitor of VEGFR-1, VEGFR-2 and VEGFR-3 approved in China as Elunate to treat metastatic colorectal cancer in a third-line setting. The deal includes another $730 million in milestones, plus royalties...