Amgen has agreed to buy clinical stage biotechnology company Teneobio for $900 million cash plus future milestone payments worth up to an additional $1.6 billion in cash.
Teneobio, based in Newark, California, is developing a class of biologics called Human Heavy-chain Antibodies used in treatments for cancer, autoimmunity and infectious diseases.
Thousand Oaks, California-based Amgen (Nasdaq: AMGN) said its acquisition includes Teneobio's proprietary bispecific and multispecific antibody technologies, which can significantly speed the discovery and development of new molecules that can potentially treat a wide range of important diseases across Amgen's core therapeutic areas. The platforms also complement Amgen's existing antibody capabilities.
"The acquisition of Teneobio will strengthen our ability to develop innovative medicines to treat patients with serious illnesses and to bring to market best-in-class products," Dr. David Reese, Amgen’s executive vice president of research and development, said in a statement.
The acquisition will also add TNB-585, a Phase 1 bispecific T cell-engager for the treatment of metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer, and several preclinical oncology pipeline assets with the potential for near-term investigational new drug filings.
TNB-585 complements Amgen's existing prostate cancer portfolio, which includes acapatamab (formerly AMG 160) and AMG 509, both in Phase 1. Each of these three investigational therapies uses a different approach to treat a highly prevalent disease for which new treatment options are very much needed, Amgen said.
