U.S. drugmaker Merck will pay Daiichi Sankyo $5.5 billion (about ¥824.7 billion) to jointly develop three of its candidate cancer drugs, they said, in a deal that could be worth up to $22 billion to the Japanese firm depending on the success of the cell-targeting therapies.
Daiichi Sankyo shares closed up 14.4% in Tokyo to post their steepest gain in more than a year.
The company is aiming for at least ¥900 billion of revenue from its oncology business in the fiscal year ending in March 2026, which would represent about a fivefold increase over a three-year period.