Taiho to buy Araris for up to $1.14 billion

Japanese drugmaker Otsuka Holdings’ (TYO: 4578) subsidiary Taiho Pharmaceuticals is to buy Araris Biotech, a Swiss oncology firm developing antibody drug conjugates (ADCs).

The acquisition follows a research collaboration between Taiho Pharmaceutical and Araris signed in November 2023, and is expected to be completed in the first half of 2025.

Under the terms of the agreement, Taiho will pay $400 million at closing, with the potential for additional milestone payments of up to $740 million, meaning that the deal could be worth as much as $1.14 billion.