Amgen Ends Drug Collaboration With Cytokinetics

Amgen Inc. has terminated its collaboration with Bay area startup Cytokinetics, according to a statement issued on Monday.The Thousand Oaks biotech giant intends to transition future development and commercialization rights of two drugs — AMG 594 and omecamtiv mecarbil — to Cytokinetics after less than stellar trial results.“We are grateful to the investigators and patients who participated in GALACTIC-HF. Unfortunately, the results of GALACTIC-HF did not meet the high bar we had set for the program,” Dr. David Reese, vice president of research and development at Amgen, said in a statement.Galactic-HF is a Phase 3 clinical trial that involved both heart failure drugs; results were presented at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions and published in the New England Journal of Medicine.Amgen will turn its focus on AMG 890, another heart failure pipeline drug in Phase 2 clinical trials, Reese said.Shares of Amgen (AMGN) closed Tuesday, down 76 cents, or less than 1 percent, to $220.46 on the Nasdaq.