Amgen Selects Bay Area Startups for Big Ticket Program

Amgen Inc. on Tuesday announced its Golden Ticket winners — startup companies BigHat Biosciences and Trilo Therapeutics. The Thousand Oaks biotech giant chooses several startups every year for its Amgen Golden Ticket treatment. Both companies, based in the Bay Area, will have access to Amgen’s scientific experts and business leaders for the year. Also, the companies will have bench space at nearby MBC BioLabs, a life science incubator in San Francisco and San Carlos. “BigHat Biosciences and Trilo Therapeutics are working on promising early-stage innovation that address serious illnesses such as cancer, autoimmune diseases, infectious diseases and others, which is why funding these companies and providing them the necessary lab space to move their science forward is so important,” Flavius Martin, vice president of oncology, inflammation and site head at Amgen South San Francisco, said in a statement. BigHat is working on creating more robust antibodies at a faster rate for the immune system, while Trilo is developing therapies that inhibit disease-causing proteins in the body. “We are happy to support their scientific efforts as they tackle complex research challenges that potentially address critical unmet medical needs for patients,” Martin continued. Shares of Amgen (AMGN) closed Tuesday up $1.60, or a fraction of a percent, to $248.35 on the Nasdaq.