Global Briefs: Daiichi Sankyo, AbbVie & Tanabe Pharma
A roundup of news from Daiichi Sankyo/Pfizer’s Seagen, AbbVie/Bio Med X, and Tanabe Pharma. Highlights below.
Patent News
* Daiichi Sanyko Wins Favorable Court Ruling in ADC Patent Dispute with Pfizer’s Seagen
Partnering News
* AbbVie, Bio Med X in Neuroscience Research Pact
General
* Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Becomes Tanabe Pharma
Patent News
Daiichi Sanyko Wins Favorable Court Ruling in ADC Patent Dispute with Pfizer’s Seagen
Daiichi Sankyo has scored a favorable ruling from a US federal appeals court regarding its patent dispute with Pfizer’s Seagen relating to linker technology used in Daiichi’s Enhertu (fam-trastuzumab deruxtecan-nxki), an antibody drug conjugate (ADC) for treating breast cancer, gastric or gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma (i.e., stomach cancer or cancer of the esophagus). Pfizer acquired Seagen in 2023 for $43 billion.
In the latest development, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has reversed a prior decision by a lower federal district court, the District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, which had found Daiichi infringed on Seagen’s US Patent No. 10,808,039 (the ’039 patent), relating to linker technology used in Enhertu. In view of the reversal, the Federal Circuit has nullified the Texas court’s related infringement judgment, nullifying all damages and royalty payments that Daiichi Sankyo had to make to Seagen. Seagen had obtained a ruling for a $42-million payment as well as royalty sales on Enhertu due to a claim that Daiichi Sankyo used technology obtained during a partnership with Seagen in the development of Enhertu.
Daiichi Sanyko first developed Enhertu, and in 2019, the company and AstraZeneca entered into a global collaboration to jointly develop and commercialize Enhertu worldwide, except in Japan, where Daiichi Sankyo maintains exclusive rights. The drug received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration in December 2019. In 2024, Enhertu’s combined sales by AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo reached $3.75 billion.
Daiichi Sanyko further reported that the US federal appeals court also dismissed an appeal from Seagen relating to a January 2024 ruling by the US Patent and Trademark Office that invalidated all claims of the ’039 patent by Seagen against Daiichi, which Daiichi Sankyo had challenged in a post-grant review proceeding. Daiichi reported this week (December 3, 2025) that Seagen’s appeal was rendered moot by the Federal Circuit’s holding that the same claims were invalid in the appeal from the Texas court decision.
Source: Daiichi Sankyo
Partnering News
AbbVie, Bio Med X in Neuroscience Research Pact
AbbVie and BioMed X, an independent research institute, have launched a new collaborative research project, hosted at the BioMed X Institute in New Haven, Connecticut.
BioMed X operates sites in Heidelberg, Germany, New Haven, Connecticut, XSeed Labs in Ridgefield, Connecticut, and a worldwide network of partner locations. It operates at the interface between academia and industry by providing biomedical research, drug discovery and drug development in the fields of oncology, immunology, neuroscience, women’s health, cardiometabolic diseases, platform technologies, and artificial intelligence.
The focus of the new research project with AbbVie is in the field of neuroscience for the development of “circuit-based model systems of anhedonia.” Anhedonia, the diminished ability to experience pleasure, remains one of the symptoms of depression, as well as several other psychiatric conditions. Anhedonia involves a complex interplay of multiple neurotransmitter systems and interconnected brain regions, including the mesocorticolimbic pathway. The focus of this collaboration will be on the identification of specific mechanisms that underpin this symptom, using patient-derived data to validate mechanistic insights wherever possible.
Bio Med X recently formed research projects with Daiichi Sanyko and the Gates Foundation.
Source: Bio Med X
General
Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Becomes Tanabe Pharma
Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation (MTPC), an Osaka, Japan-based bio/pharmaceutical company, has announced the change of its corporate name to Tanabe Pharma Corporation, effective December 1, 2025, following its acquisition by Bain Capital, a global private investment firm. A corresponding change has been made in the name of its US affiliate, from Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma America, Inc. to Tanabe Pharma America, Inc.
In July (July 2025), Bain Capital completed its acquisition of Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation and its subsidiaries in a carve-out transaction from MTPC’s parent company, Mitsubishi Chemical Group (MCG), for $3.3 billion. The deal also included MCG’s additional pharma subsidiaries, Medicago and Alpha Therapeutic.
MCG’s decision to exit its pharmaceutical business is part of the company’s larger strategic plan, dubbed “KAITEKI Vision 35,” a long-term growth strategy through 2050, as well as its near-term management plan through 2029, aimed at improving profitability. MCG is composed of three business areas: chemicals as well as pharmaceuticals and industrial gases. At the time of the release of that plan in late 2024 (November 2024), the company cited a need for change in its pharma business to improve profit margins as well as flat sales in its core chemicals business.
Source: Tanabe Pharma
