Firm will pay another $120 million if certain development goals are met.

Takeda America has decided to acquire Intellikine for $190 million up front and up to $120 million in clinical development milestones. Intellikine has a pipeline of small molecule kinase inhibitors that selectively target isoforms of the phosphoinositide-3 kinase/mammalian target of rapamycin (PI3K1/mTOR2) pathway.

Intellikine’s assets include Phase I programs involving selective inhibition of mTOR kinase and isoform-specific inhibition of PI3Kα. INK128, a novel mTORC1/2 inhibitor, is the most advanced candidate and has generated encouraging data in multiple Phase I studies and is expected to enter Phase II in 2012, according to Intellikine. INK1117, a selective inhibitor of the PI3Kα isoform, entered clinical testing in September. The firm also has a partnered program for R&D of isoform-specific inhibitors of PI3Kγ/δ.

Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Company will have global development responsibility for INK128 and INK1117. “INK128 and INK1117 are potential best-in-class inhibitors of critical pathways driving cancer cell growth,” says Deborah Dunsire, M.D., president and CEO, Millennium. “As single agents or in different combinations with novel molecules within our robust pipeline, we anticipate that these assets will be able to deliver transforming therapies to cancer patients.”

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