Amgen Inc. announced Thursday an exclusive, multi-year research collaboration and licensing agreement with San Diego-based pharmaceutical company Plexium.
Under the agreement, Plexium will identify novel protein degradation therapeutics for use on diseases that have been historically challenging as drug targets, according to a statement.
Plexium is eligible to receive more than $500 million in success-based target milestone payments pursuant to the agreement. The pharmaceutical company will could receive single-digit royalty payments on sales if all options are exercised.
Amgen will secure a commercial license to each program that advances to a predefined preclinical stage of development and will oversee commercialization and global development.
“This partnership leverages and expands our drug discovery capabilities and will further demonstrate the power of our platform to unlock the potential of protein degradation,” Percival Barretto-Ko, Plexium’s chief executive, said in a statement. “We look forward to working with Amgen to accelerate the discovery of the next generation of targeted protein degraders to improves patients’ lives around the globe.”
Shares of Amgen (AMGN) closed down $4.89, or 2.14 percent, to $224.04 on the Nasdaq Thursday, a day when the market closed down nearly 4 percent.