Amgen (NSDQ:AMGN) announced today that it is set to acquire Five Prime Therapeutics (NSDQ:FPRX) for approximately $1.9 billion.
Thousand Oaks, Calif.-based Amgen will acquire South San Francisco-based Five Prime for $38 per share in cash, reaching the equity value of approximately $1.9 billion, according to a news release.
Amgen is set to add Five Prime’s pipeline to its oncology portfolio as a result of the transaction. That pipeline includes Five Prime’s lead asset, bemarituzumab, which is a first-in-class, Phase 3-ready anti-FGFR2b antibody for advanced gastric or gastroesophageal junction cancer.
Trial results for the therapeutic suggest that FGFR2b could be used in treating other epithelial cancers, including lung, breast, ovarian and more.
Additionally, the acquisition is slated to support Amgen’s strategy for international expansion and further pipeline programs complement Amgen’s numerous injectable and oral oncology therapeutics.
“The acquisition of Five Prime offers a compelling opportunity for Amgen to strengthen our oncology portfolio with a promising late-stage, first-in-class global asset to treat gastric cancer,” Amgen chairman & CEO Robert A. Bradway said in the release. “We look forward to welcoming the Five Prime team to Amgen and working with them to leverage our best-in-class monoclonal antibody manufacturing capabilities to supply additional clinical materials, as well as expanded production quantities, to realize the full potential of bemarituzumab for even more patients around the world as quickly as possible.”
Under the agreement of the transaction, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Amgen will merge with Five Prime and shares of Five Prime that have not been tendered and purchased in the offer will be converted into the right to receive the same price per share in cash paid as the tender offer.
The companies expect the acquisition to close by the end of the second quarter, with Amgen reaffirming its full-year outlook with revenue guidance of between $25.8 billion and $26.6 billion and adjusted EPS projections of $16 to $17.
“This is an exciting day for patients who may one day benefit from the promise of bemaritizumab and our full pipeline. I’m so proud of the Five Prime team and the science we’ve pioneered,” Five Prime president & CEO Tom Civik said. “We see tremendous complementarity between the two companies. Amgen has global reach, world-class resources, and they share our deep passion for science and commitment to patients. I have full confidence that Amgen is the right company to work with us to bring our innovative cancer treatments to patients and to achieve our mission to rewrite cancer.”
