Servier buys Day One for $2.5bn to bolster its rare cancer pipeline
French pharma giant Servier is spending US$2.5bn to snap up Day One Biopharmaceuticals, gaining a key approved drug for difficult childhood brain tumours along with several promising pipeline candidates.
Servier has agreed to acquire Day One Biopharmaceuticals for US$2.5bn in cash at US$21.50 per share – a substantial 68% premium to the previous closing price. The deal is strategically aimed at strengthening the France-based group’s position in rare oncology.
Adding Ojemda to the Oncology Portfolio
The acquisition gives Servier access to Ojemda (tovorafenib), an oral, brain-penetrant, highly selective type II RAF kinase inhibitor designed to target a key enzyme in the MAPK signalling pathway.
Ojemda has been approved in the US for paediatric low-grade glioma (pLGG) with BRAF alterations and has recently received a positive recommendation for approval for the same indication in the EU, where Ipsen currently holds licensing rights to the drug.
Tovorafenib perfectly complements Servier’s existing rare cancer platform, where the company already has a range of compounds at different stages of development. Most notably, this includes Servier’s VORANIGO (vorasidenib), which was successfully approved by the FDA as a targeted treatment for Grade 2 IDH-mutant glioma in 2024.
This acquisition of Day One Biopharmaceuticals marks another decisive step in strengthening Servier’s position in rare oncology.
Accelerated Dealmaking and AI Integration
Servier has recently accelerated its dealmaking activities in the oncology sector. Just a few months ago, the French pharma group announced a major collaboration with AI drug discovery company Insilico Medicine worth up to US$888m. This partnership is aimed at discovering and developing novel oncology therapies using Insilico’s artificial intelligence (AI)-driven drug discovery platform combined with Servier’s extensive cancer development expertise.
Day One's Journey to Acquisition
California, US-based biopharma company Day One was founded in 2018 by paediatric oncologist Samuel Blackman and venture capitalist Julie Grant. The company went public in 2021 during a broader biotech market downturn, successfully raising US$160m, though its shares had fallen 20% before the takeover was officially announced.
Servier is the ideal home for our portfolio as part of Day One’s mission to bring medicines to patients of all ages with life-threatening diseases.
The transaction is expected to officially close between April and June 2026, marking a significant milestone for both organizations and the future of pediatric oncology treatments.
