Daiichi Sankyo Co. agreed to purchase Ambit Biosciences Corp. for $410 million to boost its pipeline of cancer treatments.

Based in Tokyo, Daiichi Sankyo Co. will pay $15 in cash per share. If certain milestones are achieved, Ambit stockholders will have the right to receive an additional payment of $4.50 for each share they own.

This acquisition will give the Japanese company quizartinib, an experimental drug, which is in late stage trials to treat the most common type of acute leukemia in adults. In 2008, Daiichi Sankyo acquired U3 Pharma AG, a Germany based innovative biotech company and in 2011, it acquired Plexxikon Inc. California-based drug-discovery company, to add cancer therapies.

Quizartinib targets acute myeloid leukemia, which is estimated to account for around 36 percent of all new leukemia cases in 2014. The condition results in uncontrolled growth of malignant white blood cells.

Joji Nakayama, Chief Executive Officer and President of Daiichi Sankyo said that the acquisition of Ambit Biosciences further builds their presence in oncology to ensure that they are delivering on their goal of providing world class, and innovative pharmaceuticals in major areas of unmet medical need.

Shares of Daiichi Sankyo fell 0.9 percent to 1,742 yen in Tokyo trading. Shares of Ambit closed at $8.20 in U.S. trading.

This year, Global pharmaceutical companies have announced a string of deals, streamlining underperforming businesses and making acquisitions in areas where demand for medicines is growing.

In April, Novartis AG agreed to acquire GlaxoSmithKline Plc’s cancer drug business for $16 billion, form a consumer-health venture with Glaxo and sell its animal-health unit to Eli Lilly & Co. for $5.4 billion. AbbVie Inc. agreed to acquire Shire Plc for around $52 billion (32 billion pounds) in July.

Earlier this year, Daiichi Sankyo agreed to sell Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd., its Indian unit to Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. The Tokyo-based drugmaker had struggled to improve manufacturing conditions at Ranbaxy and saw its own share price fall as American regulators imposed restrictions on imports from several Ranbaxy factories.

Last year, Ambit reported a net loss of about $11 million and revenue of $27 million. Daiichi Sankyo Astellas Pharma Inc. had earlier owned global rights to sell and develop Ambit Biosciences’ quizartinib. Last year, it terminated the agreement, mentioning that the drug did not fit in its strategy.