Takeda agreed to pay as much as $1 billion to Amylin Pharmaceuticals to co-develop and commercialise obesity treatments in an exclusive global agreement announced by Amylin.

The deal includes Amylin’s mid-stage drugs pramlintide/metreleptin and davalintide, as well as additional compounds from both companies.

 

Under the terms of the agreement, Takeda will make an upfront payment of $75 million to Amylin, and the US drugmaker is also eligible to receive milestones that could exceed $1 billion, as well as royalties on the sale of approved drugs.

 

Takeda will lead product commercialisation worldwide, while Amylin will have an option to co-commercialise the first two approved compounds in the US, as well as any follow-on drugs.

 

Analyst Michael King, of Merriman Curhan Ford & Co. predicted that a safe and effective weight-loss drug could garner as much as $2 billion in annual sales. However, Tokai Tokyo Research Center Co.

 

 analyst Takashi Akahane, noted that while the purchase would "boost Takeda’s product lineup ... [an obesity drug] alone won’t be enough to make up for the sales decline in Actos, and the company needs to make more acquisitions.” Takeda's blockbuster treatment Actos, which had $4 billion in sales in the year ended March 31, loses patent protection in January 2011.