Insight on Daiichi Sankyo’s ROS1/NTRK inhibitor DS-6051 licensing deal with AnHeart Therapeutics

Daiichi Sankyo and AnHeart Therapeutics announced they have entered into a worldwide exclusive license agreement for DS-6051, Daiichi Sankyo’s selective ROS1/NTRK inhibitor, currently in phase 1 development in the United States and Japan.

Under the terms of the agreement, Daiichi Sankyo grants AnHeart Therapeutics worldwide exclusive rights for the development, manufacturing and commercialization of DS-6051. While Daiichi Sankyo and AnHeart Therapeutics will collaborate to continue two ongoing phase 1 studies, AnHeart Therapeutics will be responsible for further development of DS-6051 worldwide. Daiichi Sankyo will receive an upfront payment and is eligible for clinical, regulatory and sales milestone payments, as well as royalties on worldwide net sales of DS-6051. 

DS-6051 is an oral, selective small molecule ROS1/NTRK inhibitor currently being evaluated in two phase 1 clinical studies in patients with solid tumours harbouring either a ROS1 or NTRK fusion gene and neuroendocrine tumours in the US and Japan. Preliminary safety and efficacy data of DS-6051 from the first part of the US-based phase 1/1b study were presented at the 2018 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting.