ULK2

Ono Pharmaceutical agreed to acquire Deciphera Pharmaceuticals for $25.60 per share in cash, representing a total equity value of $2.4 billion, bolstering the Japanese firm’s oncology portfolio. Deciphera’s sole marketed product is the KIT inhibitor Qinlock (ripretinib), whilst its pipeline includes the CSF1R inhibitor vimseltinib and the ULK inhibitor DCC-3116.Gyo Sagara, chief executive of Ono, said “we expect that this acquisition…will not only expand Ono's target oncology portfolio, but also accelerate Ono's business development in the [US] and Europe, and strengthen kinase drug discovery research.”Qinlock is approved in the US, EU and more than 40 markets as a fourth-line  treatment for gastrointestinal stromal tumours (GIST). However, efforts to expand its use in earlier settings fell flat in 2021 when the drug failed to significantly prolong progression-free survival (PFS) in the Phase III INTRIGUE study against Pfizer's Sutent (sunitinib) in patients with second-line GIST.Deciphera is currently investigating Qinlock in the late-stage INSIGHT trial for second-line GIST patients with mutations in KIT exon 11 and 17 and/or 18 and the absence of mutations in KIT exon 9, 13, and/or 14. Meanwhile, vimseltinib is expected to be filed with regulators later this year after meeting the primary endpoint of the Phase III MOTION study in patients with tenosynovial giant cell tumours not amenable to surgery.The boards of both companies have unanimously approved the transaction, which is expected to close in the third quarter. The price of the deal represents a premium of 74.7% over Deciphera’s closing share price on April 26.