Takeda Pharmaceutical has announced the completion of its acquisition of Ariad Pharmaceuticals, for $24.00 per share in cash.

“We are very pleased to have completed the acquisition of Ariad Pharmaceuticals. The addition of Ariad’s innovative targeted therapies and research and development capabilities strengthens and diversifies our oncology business, positioning Takeda for sustainable long-term growth in this priority therapeutic area,” said Christophe Weber, president and chief executive officer of Takeda. “We are particularly excited by the global potential of brigatinib, an investigational drug product, which we believe will become a best-in-class ALK inhibitor for non-small cell lung cancer with the potential to achieve peak annual sales of over $1 billion. We are also impressed with the swiftness and agility of Takeda and Ariad employees as they have planned for a successful integration while remaining focused on strategic goals. This bodes very well for the future of our combined business, and we look forward to building on this strong start to maximize the benefit of Iclusig (ponatinib) and potential of brigatinib for cancer patients.”

“The acquisition of Ariad is transformational for Takeda Oncology. Iclusig enhances our strong position in hematology in the US, and brigatinib has the potential to broaden our solid tumor franchise globally,” said Christophe Bianchi, president of Takeda Oncology. “There is a strong cultural fit between our two companies, with a shared mission to advance innovative therapies to improve the lives of patients with cancer. We have been working together over the past month to plan for a smooth integration of our businesses and we will work closely with regulatory authorities on our brigatinib market authorization submissions.”

Takeda continues to expect the transaction to be accretive to Underlying Core Earnings by FY2018. Strong revenue growth and synergy savings will offset increased sales and marketing costs for the anticipated brigatinib launch.