AstraZeneca Plc forged its biggest deal in more than a decade, agreeing to pay as much as $6.9 billion to buy into a promising Japanese cancer treatment as part of its push to become a global oncology powerhouse.
AstraZeneca will pay the Japanese drugmaker Daiichi Sankyo Co. $1.35 billion upfront to jointly develop and commercialize the cancer therapy trastuzumab deruxtecan, with as much as $5.6 billion in additional payments subject to sales milestones and other contingencies, the companies said late March 28. They will also equally split development and commercialization costs.
The deal fuels a race among big drug companies ...