Exclusive: U.S. cancer drugmaker Ignyta in advanced sale talks - sources

Ignyta Inc is in advanced talks to sell itself, people familiar with the matter said on Thursday, just three years after the U.S. cancer drugmaker became a public company focussed on precision drugs and diagnostics.

The deal would come as large pharmaceutical companies are locked in a race to acquire or license advanced cancer treatments, as more studies show that a broad-based combination of treatments has a high success rate in treating the disease.

Ignyta could make a decision about whether to sell itself as early as this month after negotiating with potential suitors, the two sources said, cautioning there was no certainty that a sale of the company would occur.

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The sources asked not to be identified because the sale process is confidential. Ignyta did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

San Diego-based Ignyta has a suite of drugs in early stage development in its pipeline that use gene therapy to kill off the underlying diseases that drive cancer tumour growth. It has a market capitalisation of $1 billion.

Ignyta`s rival, Loxo Oncology Inc , licensed its cancer drug, larotrectinib, to German drugmaker Bayer AG last month for more than $1 billion, including milestones.

Both Ignyta and Loxo focus on targeting gene mutations that drive cancer, rather than targeting a particular type of tumour.

Ignyta originated as a molecular diagnostics company, and uses its diagnostics technology to identify patients who can benefit most from its gene-based treatments.

In October, Ignyta reported that its drug entrectinib, which focuses on a type of gene that causes a small portion of lung cancer tumours, has a 69 percent overall response rate for lung cancer in early stage trials.

This, along with other positive clinical data, contributed to Ignyta`s stock nearly tripling over the past year.

Entrectinib is Ignyta`s most advanced drug, and is beginning phase 2 trials. Ignyta has three other drugs in its pipeline undergoing early stage studies.

Earlier this year, cancer drugmaker Tesaro Inc explored a sale, but ultimately decided against a transaction because of disagreements over valuation.

In February, Japanese drugmaker Takeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd completed an acquisition of Ariad Pharmaceuticals Inc for $5.2 billion.

(This article has not been edited by Zeebiz editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)