Takeda inks licensing deal for Hutchmed's fruquintinib

Japan’s largest drugmaker Takeda (TYO: 4502) has entered into an exclusive licensing agreement with Chinese biotech Hutched (Nasdaq HCM) for the further development and commercialization of fruquintinib outside of mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau.

Hutchmed’s London-listed shares rose 6.5% to 304.04 pence on the news.

Fruquintinib, which was approved in China in 2018 and is marketed under the trade name Elunate, is a highly selective and potent inhibitor of vascular endothelial growth factor receptors (VEGFR) -1, 2 and 3. Fruquintinib is orally administered and has the potential to be used across subtypes of refractory metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC), regardless of biomarker status.