Thousand Oaks-based Amgen is bringing another name to its extensive portfolio with the acquisition of biopharmaceutical company ChemoCentryx for $52 per share in cash, a deal worth approximately $3.7 billion.
ChemoCentryx, a publicly traded company founded in 1996, commercializes and develops medications for inflammatory disorders, autoimmune diseases and cancer.
“The acquisition of ChemoCentryx represents a compelling opportunity for Amgen to add to our decades-long leadership in inflammation and nephrology with TAVNEOS, a transformative, first-in-class treatment for ANCA-associated vasculitis,” Robert A. Bradway, chairman and chief executive at Amgen, said in a statement.
Tavneos was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration late last year as a treatment for adult patients with granulomatosis with polyangiitis, a condition that causes blood vessels to become inflamed. Domestic sales of TAVNEOS in its first full quarter clocked in at $5.4 million.
Tavneos will join Amgen’s deep inflammation portfolio, which includes psoriasis medication Otezla and asthma treatment Tezspire among others.
“A fierce commitment to improving human lives is the bond that unites Amgen and ChemoCentryx today,” Dr. Thomas J. Schall, president and chief executive of ChemoCentryx, said in a statement. “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).”
The acquisition is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year.
Shares of Amgen closed down a fraction of a percent, to $246.98 on the Nasdaq Thursday, a day when the market closed up nearly half a percent.