Thousand Oaks-based biotech giant Amgen is set to bolster its inflammatory and nephrology portfolios with an agreement to acquire biopharmaceutical company ChemoCentryx for $52 per share in cash, a deal worth approximately $3.7 billion.
Headquartered in San Carlos, ChemoCentryx commercializes and develops medications for autoimmune diseases, cancer and inflammatory conditions.
One such condition is ANCA-associated vasculitis, a group of diseases associated with inflammation of small vessels that can affect the kidneys, lungs and other organs. Last October, ChemoCentryx’s capsule drug Tavneos received FDA approval for the treatment of ANCA-associated vasculitis.
“We are excited to join in the Tavneos launch and help many more patients with this serious and sometimes life-threatening disease for which there remains significant unmet medical need,” Robert Bradway, chairman and chief executive officer at Amgen, said. “We also look forward to welcoming the highly skilled team from ChemoCentryx that shares our passion for serving patients suffering from serious diseases.”
Tavneos recorded $5.4 million in domestic sales in the first quarter of this year, its first full quarter of sales. The treatment is also approved in the European Union and Japan, among other markets. Vifor Fresenius Medical Care Renal Pharma will retain exclusive rights to commercialize Tavneos outside the United States, except in Japan and Canada, where two other companies hold commercialization rights.
ChemoCentryx also has three early-stage drug candidates designed to treat other inflammatory diseases and that target an oral checkpoint inhibitor for cancer.
“Last year, after 25 years of proud history, we at CCXI delivered on our founding promise with the approval of Tavneos for patients with anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibody-associated vasculitis (ANCA-associated vasculitis),” Dr. Thomas J. Schall, president and chief executive officer of ChemoCentryx, said in a statement. “It is an honor to now join Amgen’s great mission, and together begin a bright new era bringing landscape-shaping medicines like Tavneos to those who will benefit most.”
The acquisition agreement was unanimously approved by each company’s board of directors and is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year.
If the transaction closes successfully, Tavneos will be backed up by Amgen’s inflammatory portfolio, which includes treatments such as psoriasis medication Otezla and asthma treatment Tezspire, among others.
According to Amgen’s second-quarter earnings report, which was released on Aug. 4, Tezspire generated $29 million in sales in the quarter. Meanwhile, Otezla sales increased 11% year-over-year for the second quarter.
Amgen’s total revenues beat expectations and increased 1% from the same time period last year to $6.6 billion. Net income, which totaled $1.32 billion for the quarter, also beat expectations.
Changes in guidance were made by Amgen as well, as it now expects total revenues in the range of $25.5 billion to $26.4 billion for the full year 2022. Capital-expenditure guidance did not change and is still expected to be $950 million.