Takeda fills a gap

Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.'s decision last week to in-license Cell Genesys Inc.'s GVAX vaccine for prostate cancer is the first significant deal by a pharma company in the cancer immunotherapy space in about seven years. The company will have to wait more than a year to see if its bet pays off.

Cell Genesys gets $50 million up front and a global pharma partner with an existing salesforce targeting urologists who treat prostate cancer. In return, Takeda gets a Phase III candidate that could penetrate the hormone-refractory patient population that is not targeted by its Lupron Depot leuprolide, a gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) analog...