Amgen & Micromet Enter into Merger Agreement
Jan 29, 2012
By joe , worldpharmanews.com
Tag: acquisition,amgen, blinatumomab
The acquisition gives Amgen access to a novel cancer treatment.
US-based biotechnology company Amgen announced Thursday that the company has signed a definitive merger agreement to acquire Micromet, a biotechnology company founded in Germany, for $1.2bn.
The acquisition includes blinatumomab, a Bispecific T cell Engager (BiTE) antibody in Phase 2 clinical development for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Blinatumomab is also in clinical development for the treatment of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), and could have applications in other hematologic malignancies.
"The acquisition of Micromet is an opportunity to acquire an innovative oncology asset with global rights and a validated technology platform with broad potential clinical applications," said Kevin Sharer, chairman and CEO at Amgen. "Blinatumomab will serve as an important complement to our oncology pipeline and is representative of our corporate strategy, which is focused on developing and successfully commercializing therapeutics to treat patients with grievous illness."
Christian Itin, Ph.D., Micromet's president and CEO, said, "Amgen's extensive resources and experience in the development and commercialization of biologics promise to speed blinatumomab's path to market, expand its development across a broader range of B-cell malignancies and maximize the full potential of our novel BiTE technology."
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