BioCentury
ARTICLE | Company News

Daiichi returning AKT compounds to ArQule

April 2, 2013 12:09 AM UTC

ArQule Inc. (NASDAQ:ARQL) said partner Daiichi Sankyo Co. Ltd. (Tokyo:4568; Osaka:4568) is terminating a deal that gave the pharma exclusive, worldwide rights to a portfolio of protein kinase B (PKB; PKBA; AKT; AKT1) compounds for cancer. The portfolio's lead compound, ARQ 092, is a small molecule AKT inhibitor in Phase I testing, with data expected this month. In November 2011, Daiichi exercised an option to license the compounds, which were discovered and developed under a 2008 deal between the partners using ArQule's kinase inhibitor discovery platform (AKIP). Daiichi said it made the decision after reviewing its product development portfolio.

ArQule and Daiichi are still partnered to co-develop ArQule's tivantinib worldwide outside of certain Asian countries under a separate 2008 deal. The small molecule inhibitor of c-Met receptor tyrosine kinase is in Phase III testing to treat hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Last year, the partners discontinued Phase III trials of tivantinib to treat non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and in January, the partners said the compound missed the primary endpoint in a Phase II trial to treat relapsed or refractory metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) (see BioCentury Extra, Jan. 11). ...