Japan’s Ono to Buy US Drugmaker Deciphera for $2.4 Bln

Reuters

11:31 JST, April 30, 2024

Deciphera Pharmaceuticals said on Monday Japan’s Ono Pharmaceutical Co will acquire the cancer drugmaker for $2.4 billion to expand its oncology portfolio and presence in the United States and Europe.

Ono Pharma has offered $25.60 per share in cash, a premium of 74.7% to U.S.-based Deciphera’s last closing price of $14.65.

Shares of Deciphera soared 71% in premarket trading following the news.

Some shareholders who own about 28% of Deciphera’s outstanding stock have already agreed to tender their shares and support the deal, which is expected to close in the third quarter of 2024, the company said.

“We expect that this acquisition of Deciphera will not only expand ONO’s target oncology portfolio, but also accelerate ONO’s business development in the United States and Europe, and strengthen kinase drug discovery research,” Ono Chief Executive Officer Gyo Sagara said.

Deciphera’s oral drug Qinlock to treat a type of gastrointestinal cancer received the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s full approval in 2020.

The company also plans to seek a nod for vimseltinib, its experimental medicine to treat tenosynovial giant cell tumor, a type of tumor found in some joints.