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Amgen to pay almost $4B for ChemoCentryx

Amgen (Nasdaq:AMGN) announced that it would purchase the San Carlos, California–based ChemoCentryx (Nasdaq:CCXI) for $52 per share in cash, which equates to a total of approximately $3.7 billion.

The centerpiece of the proposed acquisition is Tavneos (avacopan), which scored FDA approval last year for the adjunctive treatment of anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis. The disease is associated with inflammation and damage to small blood vessels. Approximately 10,000 people in the U.S.are diagnosed with the condition annually.

U.S. sales of the drug in the first quarter of 2022 were $5.4 million.

Tavneos is an oral selective complement component 5a receptor inhibitor.

ChemoCentryx also has three early-stage drug candidates targeting chemoattractant receptors in other inflammatory diseases and an oral checkpoint inhibitor.

After announcing the plan, CCXI shares surged 109% to $50.38 in mid-day trading. AMGN shares h…

Amgen exec describes generative biology’s promise to unveil sequence, structure and function

Amgen (Nasdaq:AMGN) is sharpening its focus on generative biology, an emerging discipline that can accelerate protein drug discovery.

The company describes generative biology as “a revolutionary approach to drug discovery and development” that enlists the help of AI and machine learning to design novel protein therapeutics.

Although the term generative biology may be new, Amgen has invested in the marriage of wet lab high throughput automation and dry lab computational biology for decades.

A recently created internal team known as the Digital Biologics Discovery Group aims to expand its focus on generative biology. Leading that group is Alan Russell, who is currently Amgen’s vice president of biologics. Before joining the company, Russell founded and led the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh. He also created and led the Disruptive Health Technology Institute at Carnegie Mellon University.

J&J and Roche named to Clarivate’s Top 100 Global Innovators list

Photo by Chokniti Khongchum from Pexels

Few healthcare companies were included in the annual ranking of innovative companies from the analytics firm Clarivate plc (NYSE:CLVT).

Two companies in pharma and another in medtech, however, made the cut.

Johnson & Johnson was featured for the second consecutive year as a top 100 Global innovator.

Roche was included for the 11th consecutive year in the report.

In medtech, Philips was included for the second consecutive year.

Clarivate notes the fragmented nature of pharmaceutical research contributes to the limited number of companies in the ranking. Given the elevated role of academia and contract firms in drug discovery and development, it is more challenging for any single entity to stand out in the industry.

Additionally, Clarivate concluded that the ability of the pharmaceutical sector to innovate has fallen since last year…

Gilead Sciences, Merck near the top of Newsweek’s most responsible companies list

A handful of big names in drug discovery and development are among the 500 “most responsible,” according to Newsweek.

The outlet published its “America’s Most Responsible Companies 2022” list, marking the third installment of the compilation (in partnership with Statista), this time expanded to include 500 of the largest public corporations around. Companies were judged with an overall score out of 100 that combined assessments on environmental, social and corporate governance performance.

Gilead Sciences (NSDQ:GILD), Merck (NYSE:MRK) and Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) were among the pharmaceutical companies to land a spot in the top-500, with a number of other drug development, pharmaceutical processing and manufacturing companies included.

The highest-ranking company was Gilead in sixth, landing an overall score of 89.9 points (90.6 environmental, 81.1 social and 98.2 corporate governance).

Merck was next-best in ninth at 89.3 points (94.6, 81.4, 92.…

Medtech M&A: The industry’s biggest mergers and acquisitions of 2021

[Image from Jp Valery on Unsplash]

Across 2021, medtech has seen a wide range of mergers and acquisitions covering several areas of devices, pharmaceuticals and more.

Some have gone off without a hitch, while others fell into serious scrutiny as mouthwatering financial figures were revealed and major technologies were acquired.

Here are the 10 biggest mergers and acquisitions in medtech in 2021:

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Amgen finalizes Teneobio acquisition

Amgen (NSDQ:AMGN) has acquired privately-held immunotherapy specialist Teneobio (Newark, California).

The transaction includes an upfront $900 million upfront payment and future contingent milestone payments worth up to an additional $1.6 billion.

Tenebio’s stated mission was to tap human heavy-chain antibodies to “redirect the immune system to safely fight disease.”

Earlier this year, it had three drug candidates—TNB-383B, TNB-486 and TNB-58—in Phase 1 trials. The company had 11 additional candidates in earlier stages of discovery and development.

Amgen believes that the acquisition will complement its work on T-cell engagers and bi- and multispecific biologics. “Teneobio’s expertise and technologies will further expand our repertoire of multispecific architectures and advance our overarching mission to develop transformative innovation to bring to market best-in-class products to serve our patients,” said Dr. …

Biosimilars adoption growing, but the market remains nascent

Photo by Tara Winstead from Pexels

While biosimilar adoption remains at an early stage in the U.S., biosimilar adoption is ticking up. Biosimilar penetration for Roche’s Avastin (bevacizumab) is especially high at 69%. In addition, biosimilars for Genentech’s Herceptin and Amgen’s Neupogen have also achieved a market penetration of 57% and 62%, respectively, according to IQVIA data based on late June sales data.

One of the chief factors limiting the size of the biosimilars market, however, is the limited number of biosimilars on the market. While the Affordable Care Act included biosimilar provisions, only 33 biosimilars have won FDA approval since 2015. The agency approved ten of those in 2019.

The Biosimilars Council estimates that biosimilars could save the U.S. as much as $130 billion by 2025.

For now, however, overall adoption remains at a nascent stage. “Various factors have likely influe…

MedTech 100 roundup: Industry skies to all-time high

The medtech industry hit a slight lull in the early stages of 2021 and, after signs of a rebound, it has soared beyond levels ever before seen.

MassDevice‘s MedTech 100 Index had been building up steam in the month of April, rising from 102.16 points at the beginning of March all the way to 109.39 to end the week before last (April 9). Having only set its previous all-time best of 110.96 on Feb. 15, the industry’s topsy-turvy run gave no indication of which direction it was heading next.

However, after the rise over the past couple of weeks, the industry rode that wave to a new all-time high of 112.25 to end last week on April 16. That represents a 2.6% rise from the previous week’s tally.

Improvements continue to shine a light on the strong position the industry has settled into a year on from the height of the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on medtech, as the industry has produced an 21.6% rise from the pre-pandemic high of 92.32 (set on Feb. 1…

Amgen completes $1.9B acquisition of Five Prime Therapeutics

Amgen (NSDQ:AMGN) announced today that it completed its $1.9 billion acquisition of Five Prime Therapeutics (NSDQ:FPRX).

Thousand Oaks, Calif.-based Amgen has officially acquired South San Francisco-based Five Prime for $38 per share in cash, reaching an equity value of approximately $1.9 billion. The acquisition was initially announced on March 4, 2021.

Get the full story at our sister site, Drug Delivery Business News.

MedTech 100 roundup: Industry sees largest fall since October

The medtech industry’s hot start to 2021 has finally come to a full halt after stocks fell harder than they had in more than four months.

MassDevice‘s MedTech 100 index ended the week (March 5) at 103.3 points, marking a -3.1% dip from the 106.65-point mark set one week before (Feb. 26). In less than a month, the fall has been more than seven points from the end-of-week tally of 110.63 points on Feb. 12.

Medtech’s lowest point of the week was on Thursday, March 4, when it fell to 102.85. The overall drop of about five points from the 107.88-point mark set on Monday, March 1, is the largest dip since the index slid from 97.2 to 91.01 between Oct. 23, 2020, and Oct. 30, 2020.

The all-time best for the index was 110.96, set just three days after that. The index had never reached even the 100-point mark before November 2020.

Still, the industry is in much better condition than it was around this time last year. Medtech’s latest mark means …

Amgen to acquire Five Prime Therapeutics for $1.9B

Amgen (NSDQ:AMGN) announced today that it is set to acquire Five Prime Therapeutics (NSDQ:FPRX) for approximately $1.9 billion.

Thousand Oaks, Calif.-based Amgen will acquire South San Francisco-based Five Prime for $38 per share in cash, reaching the equity value of approximately $1.9 billion, according to a news release.

Get the full story at our sister site, Drug Delivery Business News.

After flunking one study, Amgen’s tezepelumab shows promise for asthma

Amgen and AstraZeneca have announced that the experimental monoclonal antibody tezepelumab demonstrated a clinically meaningful reduction in annualized asthma exacerbation rate (AAER) in severe, uncontrolled asthma patients. In the NAVIGATOR Phase 3 trial, the drug led to a 56% reduction in AAER over 52 weeks when used as part of the standard of care.

The two companies recently presented a poster related to the NAVIGATOR study at the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology annual meeting with an investor call following.

Physicians in the investor call were upbeat about the use of tezepelumab as a first-line therapy and patients with low levels of eosinophil, a type of white blood cell.

UBS analysts have estimated that peak sales of the drug would be $1.6 billion.

Results from the NAVIGATOR study were published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

In December, Amgen and AstraZeneca announced a setback with the…