As part of its strategy to focus on oncology, Eisai has acquired an exclusive license agreement for HBI-8000, a histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor from Huya Bioscience for US$280 M, which covers eight Asian countries including Japan. The deal enables the expansion of Eisai’s blood cancer pipeline as well as strengthening its position in Asia. HBI-8000 has been approved in China for the treatment of peripheral T-cell lymphoma and Eisai will be responsible for commercialisation and development of the drug for solid tumour indications in the licensed territories.