Takeda samples, then buys

After first making a venture investment in Envoy Therapeutics Inc. in 2009 and then sampling its wares under a 2010 target discovery deal, Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. has taken the next step and acquired the biotech for its bacTRAP platform and a preclinical pipeline of CNS therapeutics.

Under the deal, which closed last month, Takeda is paying up to $140 million in cash, including an undisclosed upfront payment and preclinical milestones.

The pharma's corporate venture arm, Takeda Ventures Inc. (TVI), had already participated in Envoy's $8 million series A round in 2009,