Astellas nabs $4 billion acquisition of OSI

TOKYO Japanese drug maker Astellas Pharma will acquire U.S.-based OSI Pharmaceuticals for $4 billion, the two companies said Sunday.

Astellas moved to buy the Melville, N.Y.-based drug maker in March. OSI commercializes the cancer drug Tarceva (erlotinib), which Roche division Genentech also markets.

“The merger with OSI provides Astellas with a top-tier oncology platform in the U.S. and an expanded product portfolio and pipelines,” Astellas CEO Masafumi Nogimori said. “In addition to Tarceva, we are pleased to add its oncology infrastructure, discovery platform, expanded pipelines and talent base to our existing businesses.”