Servier snaps up cancer biotech Day One in $2.5bn deal

Rumours earlier this week of an imminent takeover offer for Day One Biopharmaceuticals proved well-founded, but missed the mark on the identity of the acquirer.

France's Servier has emerged as the suitor, with an all-cash offer to buy Day One and its fast-growing brain cancer therapy Ojemda (tovorafenib) for $21.50 per share, valuing the California company at almost $2.5 billion.

Speculation about a looming deal started on Wednesday, but most of those engaged in the chatter were naming Ipsen – Day One's partner for Ojemda outside the US – or Jazz Pharma as the likely suspects.

Servier's offer still needs to go through the usual closing conditions before it gets over the line, so it remains a possibility that a rival offer could emerge, although the company is predicting it will close the deal in the second quarter.

Ojemda is approved in the US to treat BRAF-mutated low-grade glioma treatment, and has also been recommended for approval in the EU. Day One reported Ojemda sales from the US market of $155 million in 2025, up from £57 million in the previous year, and is expecting further growth to as much as $240 million this year.

Analysts at JP Morgan have previously suggested Ojemda could become a $750 million-a-year product in the US market alone, thanks to a broader label than its nearest rival – Novartis' Finlee (dabrafenib) and Spexotras (trametinib) combination – which is only indicated for a particular type of BRAF mutation (V600E). Ojemda is also thought to have an edge in less frequent dosing (once-daily versus twice-daily) and improved tolerability.

Servier president Olivier Laureau said the acquisition "marks another decisive step in strengthening Servier's position as a global leader in rare oncology," and will help the company meet its 2030 objectives, which include raising annual revenues to €10 billion or more.

Ojemda is also in clinical testing to see if its label can be extended to include newly-diagnosed children and young adults aged up to 25 with RAF-altered low-grade glioma, while Day One's pipeline also includes two other cancer candidates; namely, emiltatug ledadotin, a B7-H4-directed antibody-drug conjugate (ADC), and PTK7-targeted ADC DAY301, in early-stage clinical testing.

Day One's chief executive, Jeremy Bender, said that Servier has a successful track record in rare cancers that "makes it the ideal home for our portfolio" and "represents a unique opportunity to extend the reach of our science."

This is the first acquisition for the French group since it bought Agios for $2 billion in 2021, although, it has been steadily adding to its oncology, neurology, and rare disease pipeline in the interim with a string of licensing deals with the likes of BioNova Pharma, Black Diamond Therapeutics, IDEAYA Biosciences, and Kaerus.