Amgen has entered an agreement to acquire US-based biopharmaceutical company Rodeo Therapeutics for up to $721m.
According to the deal, Amgen will acquire all outstanding shares of Rodeo for an upfront payment of $55m. Rodeo is eligible to receive future contingent milestone payments worth up to an additional $666m in cash.
Amgen Global Research senior vice-president Raymond Deshaies said: 鈥淭he enzyme 15-PGDH plays a key role in many disease-relevant processes such as stem cell self-renewal and epithelial barrier repair.
鈥淕iven the encouraging preclinical data to date, we are excited about the opportunity to develop a novel therapy with potential in a range of important inflammatory disease indications.鈥�
Founded in 2017, Rodeo focuses on developing first-in-class, orally available modulators of prostaglandin biology that perform a major role in tissue regeneration and repair.
Amgen noted that Rodeo’s 15-prostaglandin dehydrogenase (15-PGDH) programme is a robust strategic fit with its inflammation portfolio and its efforts in developing first-in-class treatments for patients.
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By GlobalDataIn extensive preclinical studies, Rodeo’s lead 15-PGDH modulators have produced compelling results and possess clinical potential in different indications.
Rodeo president and CEO Thong Le said: 鈥淲e are thrilled that Amgen recognises the potential value and differentiated profile of our 15-PGDH inhibitor programme.
鈥淲ith decades of experience in developing, manufacturing and commercialising innovative therapies for patients suffering from a broad range of immunologic diseases and conditions, Amgen is ideally positioned to rapidly advance our programme into the clinic.鈥�
For this deal, Cooley served as Rodeo鈥檚 legal advisor while Gunderson Dettmer was legal advisor to Amgen.
Earlier this month, Amgen entered a聽merger agreement to acquire Five Prime Therapeutics聽for $38 per share in cash or an equity value of approximately $1.9bn.
