Amgen to Buy Biovex for $425 Million to Add Experimental Cancer Medicines

By Rob Waters

Bloomberg

Amgen Inc., the world’s largest biotechnology company, said it agreed to buy Biovex, a closely held maker of experimental cancer drugs for $425 million plus as much as $575 million in milestone payments.

Biovex’s lead product, the experimental cancer vaccine Oncovex, is in the final stages of testing usually required for U.S. regulatory approval, for the treatment of a metastatic melanoma, a skin cancer. The drug also is being studied in head and neck cancer, the companies said in a statement.

Chief Executive Officer Kevin Sharer said Thousand Oaks, California-based Amgen was developing cancer drugs and would pursue acquisitions to help the company grow. Acquiring Woburn, Massachusetts-based Biovex’s experimental drugs also may help Amgen add direct cancer therapy to its products that provide supportive care to cancer patients such as the bone drug Xgeva.

“OncoVex has demonstrated encouraging anti-tumor activity in clinical studies for the treatment of melanoma and head and neck cancer,” said Roger M. Perlmutter, Amgen’s executive vice president for research and development, in the statement. Amgen will now focus “on advancing this late-stage investigational therapy, with the hope of bringing it to market within the next few years.”

Amgen has announced seven acquisitions in the last five years with an average disclosed size of $264.2 million, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Biovex is the largest, the data show.

The transaction has been approved by the boards of directors of both companies. Amgen had $17.4 billion in cash and marketable securities, as of Dec. 31, the company said today in a statement.

There have been 93 acquisitions announced or completed in the U.S. biotechnology industry in the past year for an average disclosed purchase price of $972 million and an average premium of 39 percent, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

To contact the reporter on this story: Rob Waters in San Francisco at rwaters5@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Reg Gale at rgale5@bloomberg.net.