Tech Dealmaker Awards

Protopapas

Japan’s largest drugmaker, Takeda Pharmaceuticals Ltd., has lofty ambitions. It wants to become the world’s largest cancer drug company, and it wants to get there quickly. So it bought Cambridge biotech Millennium Pharmaceuticals Inc. for $25 a share in a cash tender worth $8.8 billion — a 59 percent premium over Millennium’s share price.

Millennium, with 1,000 employees, is already well-seated in the oncology world. Its big hit is Valcade, an established cancer drug yielding a high revenue. At the time of the acquisition, Millennium also had 10 drugs in the clinical pipelines, mostly focused on oncology and inflammatory bowel disease.

“Takeda had already started building up its oncology capabilities internally,” said Anna Protopapas, senior vice president of corporate development for Millennium. “But purchasing Millennium, a company with oncology expertise from research to commercialization, really springboards Takeda to a leadership position in the field.”

Millennium — now branded as Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Company — remains a subsidiary of Takeda and has become Takeda’s oncology center. Takeda has moved all of its oncology drug candidates to Millennium, and what makes this deal particularly noteworthy is that Millennium is adding jobs as a result. In August, it told, Mass High Tech it planned to grow its local payroll by 30 percent, adding up to 300 people by the end of 2008.

— Amy Castor

Category

Life Sciences

The Deal

Takeda purchased Millennium for $8.8 billion cash. Closed in May 2008

Key Executives

Deborah Dunsire, CEO, Millennium; Anna Protopapas, senior vice president of corporate development, Millennium; Yasuchika Hasegawa, president, Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.

Deal advisers

Financial: Takeda — UBS Investment Bank; Millennium — Goldman, Sachs & Co.
Legal: Takeda — Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge LLP; Millennium — WilmerHale

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