Daiichi's Handsome Buyout Price Validates Plexxikon's Business Model

In an era in which biotechs struggle to get financing and Big Pharma is hungry for new drugs but typically favors deals that delay rewards, Plexxikon Inc. appears to have been dealt a top R&D hand and played its cards exceedingly well. Its strategy has culminated in one of the priciest private buyouts in recent history, its $805 million up-front acquisition by Japan’s Daiichi Sankyo Co. Ltd.