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Amgen to Acquire Ilypsa, a Private San Francisco Bay Area
Biotechnology Company Focused on Kidney Disease Care
Acquisition Provides Nephrology Leader Amgen With A Late-Stage
Selective Phosphate Binder For The Treatment of
Hyperphosphatemia in Chronic Kidney Disease Patients
THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. & SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS
WIRE)--June 4, 2007--Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) announced today that it
has agreed to acquire Ilypsa, a private company developing
non-absorbed drugs for renal disorders. Ilypsa's lead drug
candidate, ILY101, is a phosphate binder for the treatment of
hyperphosphatemia in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients on
hemodialysis.
Under terms of the agreement, Amgen will pay $420 million in
cash to acquire Ilypsa. Following completion of the transaction,
Ilypsa will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Amgen. The
acquisition has been approved by the boards of directors of each
company and the shareholders of Ilypsa. It is subject to
customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals,
and is expected to close in the third quarter of 2007.
"Amgen is dedicated to developing medicines that improve the
lives of patients around the world. Ilypsa and ILY101 are a
strategic fit for Amgen's nephrology portfolio and further
demonstrate our commitment to explore, develop and commercialize
promising therapies that help in the fight against kidney
disease and its complications," said George J. Morrow, Amgen's
executive vice president of Global Commercial Operations.
"We are delighted to reach an agreement with Amgen that will
help drive Ilypsa's most promising therapeutic program closer to
commercialization as an important new option for patients," said
Jay Shepard, president and chief executive officer of Ilypsa.
"I am proud of the talented team at Ilypsa and believe Amgen
offers a promising future for our extraordinary drug
candidates."
ILY101 is an orally administered, non-absorbed polymeric agent
that works by preventing the absorption of ingested phosphate.
Studies suggest that ILY101 may have enhanced phosphate binding
selectivity and capacity compared to currently available
polymeric phosphate binding agents. ILY101 has completed Phase 2
trials in patients with CKD who are on hemodialysis.
About Amgen
Amgen discovers, develops and delivers innovative human
therapeutics. A biotechnology pioneer since 1980, Amgen was one
of the first companies to realize the new science's promise by
bringing safe and effective medicines from lab, to manufacturing
plant, to patient. Amgen therapeutics have changed the practice
of medicine, helping millions of people around the world in the
fight against cancer, kidney disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and
other serious illnesses. With a deep and broad pipeline of
potential new medicines, Amgen remains committed to advancing
science to dramatically improve people's lives. To learn more
about our pioneering science and our vital medicines, visit
www.amgen.com.
About Ilypsa
Ilypsa, Inc. is a privately held biopharmaceutical company
discovering and developing a pipeline of next-generation renal
care pharmaceutical products. Pioneering the use of a
proprietary high throughput discovery and development platform,
Ilypsa has rapidly created non-absorbed polymeric phosphate and
potassium binder compounds to treat chronic kidney disease, and
has additional programs in kidney, infectious and metabolic
diseases. To learn more about Ilypsa, visit
www.Ilypsa.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains forward-looking statements that
involve significant risks and uncertainties, including those
discussed below and others that can be found in our Form 10-K
for the year ended Dec. 31, 2006, and in our periodic reports on
Form 10-Q and Form 8-K. Amgen is providing this information as
of the date of this news release and does not undertake any
obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in
this document as a result of new information, future events or
otherwise.
No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed and actual
results may differ materially from those we project. The
Company's results may be affected by our ability to successfully
market both new and existing products domestically and
internationally, clinical and regulatory developments (domestic
or foreign) involving current and future products, sales growth
of recently launched products, competition from other products
(domestic or foreign), difficulties or delays in manufacturing
our products. In addition, sales of our products are affected by
reimbursement policies imposed by third-party payors, including
governments, private insurance plans and managed care providers
and may be affected by regulatory, clinical and guideline
developments and domestic and international trends toward
managed care and health care cost containment as well as U.S.
legislation affecting pharmaceutical pricing and reimbursement.
Government and others' regulations and reimbursement policies
may affect the development, usage and pricing of our products.
Furthermore, our research, testing, pricing, marketing and other
operations are subject to extensive regulation by domestic and
foreign government regulatory authorities. We or others could
identify safety, side effects or manufacturing problems with our
products after they are on the market. Our business may be
impacted by government investigations, litigation and products
liability claims. Further, while we routinely obtain patents for
our products and technology, the protection offered by our
patents and patent applications may be challenged, invalidated
or circumvented by our competitors. We depend on third parties
for a significant portion of our manufacturing capacity for the
supply of certain of our current and future products and limits
on supply may constrain sales of certain of our current products
and product candidate development. In addition, we compete with
other companies with respect to some of our marketed products as
well as for the discovery and development of new products.
Discovery or identification of new product candidates cannot be
guaranteed and movement from concept to product is uncertain;
consequently, there can be no guarantee that any particular
product candidate will be successful and become a commercial
product. Further, some raw materials, medical devices and
component parts for our products are supplied by sole
third-party suppliers.
Contact
Amgen, Thousand Oaks
David Polk, 805-447-4613 (media)
Arvind Sood, 805-447-1060 (investors)
or
Ilypsa, Santa Clara
William D. Waddill, 408-200-9513
Source
Amgen
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