Takeda snaps up Amgen products

pharmafile | February 6, 2008 | News story | Sales and Marketing |   

Takeda has bought marketing rights to 13 of Amgen's early stage products, boosting its flagging pipeline and letting Amgen recoup some of the revenue lost during a tough 2007.

The partnership agreement includes molecules in oncology, inflammation, neurology and pain. With the exception of one candidate, all of the molecules are biologics.

Amgen chief executive Kevin Sharer said: "The development programmes included in this collaboration represent the growth engine for Amgen in the next decade. Takeda's confidence in these programmes validates their potential to become innovative therapies for patients in Japan and worldwide."

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The partnership includes Amgen's cancer drug Vectibix (panitumumab) and motesanib, an oncology candidate now in phase II trials.

Amgen will receive $200 million as an upfront payment, $702 million for global R&D expense sharing, followed by other success-based milestones.

Takeda will also acquire Amgen's Japanese subsidiary, but the biotech will retain certain co-promotion rights in Japan for products at the centre of the deal.

The payment arrangement will suit Amgen, as the company suffered in 2007 when several of its products, including anaemia treatments Aranesp and Epogen, were affected by safety concerns. The setbacks contributed to a significant dip in sales and job cuts across the group.

Looking forward, Amgen is anticipating the launch of denosumab, a targeted therapy for bone remodelling.

Denosumab is being studied across a range of conditions, including osteoporosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and multiple myeloma, and is tipped by IMS analysts as a major launch for 2008.

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