Takeda Pharmaceutical and Intellikine have entered into an agreement for Takeda America Holdings to acquire Intellikine by cash. Takeda expects that the transaction will be finalized in January 2012. Under the agreement, Takeda America Holdings will acquire Intellikine for $190 million upfront and up to $120 million in additional potential clinical development milestone payments.

Intellikine has assembled a portfolio of proprietary small molecule kinase inhibitors that selectively target isoforms of the phosphoinositide-3 kinase / mammalian target of rapamycin (PI3K /mTOR ) pathway. The assets of the company include ongoing phase I clinical programs involving selective inhibition of mTOR kinase and isoform-specific inhibition of PI3Ka, as well as a partnered program involving research and development of isoform-specific inhibitors of PI3Kγ/δ, and a robust discovery research platform in small molecule kinase inhibitors. Intellikine's most advanced drug candidate, INK128, a novel mTORC1/2 inhibitor, has generated encouraging data in multiple phase I studies and is expected to enter phase II studies in 2012. INK1117, a novel and selective inhibitor of the PI3Ka isoform, entered human clinical testing in September 2011.

Millennium, Takeda's business unit responsible for global oncology strategy and development, will have global development responsibility for INK128 and INK1117.

"We are pleased that Takeda recognizes the potential of our clinical-stage programs as well as our strong pipeline and discovery engine. Together, with Millennium and Takeda, we can bring the resources and expertise necessary to enable our drug candidates to reach their full potential in the treatment of patients with cancer," added Troy Wilson, president and CEO, Intellikine.

Intellikine's exclusive financial advisor for the transaction was Lazard while Cooley was its legal advisor. Takeda was represented by Covington & Burling.