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.
Plexxikon chalks up its recent eye-popping $805 million up-front acquisition by Japan's Daiichi Sankyo Co. Ltd. to its truly exciting, targeted, lead cancer drug, an open-minded approach to its...