Amgen Finalises Agreement With Servier
Amgen have confirmed a new partnership with Servier to boost the pipelines of both businesses.
The waiting period to let any antitrust concerns to arise has now passed, meaning the two companies can advance with the agreement.
The deal will provide Amgen with rights in the US to Servier’s heart drug, ivabradine, which has already been approved in Europe under the brand name Procoralan for treating chronic heart failure and stable angina in patients with raised heart rates.
Amgen will also gain an exclusive option to develop and commercialise Servier’s investigational molecule S38844, which is currently in clinical Phase II testing for heart failure, for cardiovascular indications in the US.
In return, Servier have secured European commercialisation rights to omecamtiv mecarbil, an activator of cardiac myosin. Omecamtiv mecarbil is being studied in patients with left ventricular systolic dysfunction, who are hospitalised with acute heart failure.
Both companies can exercise their options up to the completion of phase II clinical studies.
With the deal now proceeding, Amgen will pay a one-time upfront sum of $50 million to Servier, who will also receive milestone payments as ivabradine proceeds through development, in addition to royalties if the drug reaches the market. The financial terms related to the two option compounds have not been disclosed.
The deal is one of numerous deals agreed by Amgen this year as they looks to leverage their pipeline, including a $75 million expansion of their agreement with Cytokinetics on omecamtiv mecarbil that added in Japanese commercialisation rights.
They also recently signed an agreement with Astellas to develop five of their pipeline drugs in Japan and formed a joint venture with Zhejiang Beta Pharma to sell its colorectal cancer drug Vectibix (panitumumab) in China. Amgen are also still currently pursuing a $10bn bid for cancer specialist Onyx.