Acquisition Includes TAVNEOS® (avacopan), a First-in-Class Medicine for Patients With Serious Autoimmune Disease
Tavneos Adds to Amgen’s Decades-Long Leadership in Inflammation and Nephrology
Amgen (NASDAQ: AMGN) and ChemoCentryx, Inc., (NASDAQ: CCXI), a biopharmaceutical company focused on orally administered therapeutics to treat autoimmune diseases, inflammatory disorders and cancer, today announced that the companies have entered into a definitive agreement under which Amgen will acquire ChemoCentryx for $52 per share in cash, representing an enterprise value of approximately $3.7 billion.
“The acquisition of ChemoCentryx represents a compelling opportunity for Amgen to add to our decades-long leadership in inflammation and nephrology with TAVNEOS, a transformative, first-in-class treatment for ANCA-associated vasculitis,” said Robert A. Bradway, chairman and chief executive officer at Amgen. “We are excited to join in the TAVNEOS launch and help many more patients with this serious and sometimes life-threatening disease for which there remains significant unmet medical need. We also look forward to welcoming the highly skilled team from ChemoCentryx that shares our passion for serving patients suffering from serious diseases.”
TAVNEOS is an orally administered selective complement component 5a receptor inhibitor. It was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in October 2021 as an adjunctive treatment for adult patients with severe active ANCA-associated vasculitis, specifically granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA) and microscopic polyangiitis (MPA) (the two main forms of ANCA-associated vasculitis), in combination with standard therapy.
ANCA-associated vasculitis is an umbrella term for a group of multi-system autoimmune diseases with small vessel inflammation. Inflamed vessels may rupture or become occluded giving rise to a broad array of clinical symptoms and signs related to a systemic inflammatory response which may result in profound injury and dysfunction in the kidneys, lungs and other organs.
Amgen is a leader in inflammation and nephrology. The company’s inflammation portfolio includes Otezla®, ENBREL®, TEZSPIRE®, AMGEVITA™ (a biosimilar to HUMIRA®), RIABNI™ (a biosimilar to Rituxan®), and AVSOLA® (a biosimilar to REMICADE®). Amgen’s pipeline includes four innovative Phase 2 inflammation medicines – efavaleukin alpha for systemic lupus erythematosus and ulcerative colitis, ordesekimab for celiac disease, rocatinlimab for atopic dermatitis and rozibafusap alfa for systemic lupus erythematosus – as well as ABP 654, a biosimilar to STELARA® that is in Phase 3 development. Amgen’s nephrology portfolio includes EPOGEN®, Aranesp®, Parsabiv® and Sensipar®.
About Amgen
Amgen is committed to unlocking the potential of biology for patients suffering from serious illnesses by discovering, developing, manufacturing and delivering innovative human therapeutics. This approach begins by using tools like advanced human genetics to unravel the complexities of disease and understand the fundamentals of human biology.
Amgen focuses on areas of high unmet medical need and leverages its expertise to strive for solutions that improve health outcomes and dramatically improve people’s lives. A biotechnology pioneer since 1980, Amgen has grown to be one of the world’s leading independent biotechnology companies, has reached millions of patients around the world and is developing a pipeline of medicines with breakaway potential.
About ChemoCentryx
ChemoCentryx is a biopharmaceutical company commercializing and developing new medications for inflammatory and autoimmune diseases and cancer. ChemoCentryx targets the chemokine and chemoattractant systems to discover, develop and commercialize orally administered therapies. In the United States, ChemoCentryx markets TAVNEOS® (avacopan), the first approved orally administered inhibitor of the complement 5a receptor as an adjunctive treatment for adult patients with severe active ANCA-associated vasculitis. TAVNEOS is also in late-stage clinical development for the treatment of severe hidradenitis suppurativa and C3 glomerulopathy (C3G). Additionally, ChemoCentryx has early-stage drug candidates that target chemoattractant receptors in other inflammatory and autoimmune diseases and in cancer. For more information about ChemoCentryx visit www.chemocentryx.com.
About TAVNEOS® (avacopan)
TAVNEOS (avacopan), approved by the FDA as an adjunctive treatment of ANCA-associated vasculitis, is a first-in-class, orally administered small molecule that employs a novel, highly targeted mode of action in complement-driven autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. While the precise mechanism in ANCA vasculitis has not been definitively established, TAVNEOS, by blocking the complement 5a receptor (C5aR) for the pro-inflammatory complement system fragment known as C5a on destructive inflammatory cells such as blood neutrophils, is presumed to arrest the ability of those cells to do damage in response to C5a activation, which is known to be the driver of ANCA vasculitis. TAVNEOS’s selective inhibition of only the C5aR leaves the beneficial C5a pathway through the C5L2 receptor functioning normally.
ChemoCentryx is also developing TAVNEOS for the treatment of patients with C3 glomerulopathy (C3G), severe hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) and lupus nephritis (LN). The U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted TAVNEOS orphan drug designation for ANCA-associated vasculitis and C3G. The European Commission has granted orphan medicinal product designation for TAVNEOS for the treatment of two forms of ANCA-associated vasculitis: microscopic polyangiitis and granulomatosis with polyangiitis (formerly known as Wegener’s granulomatosis), as well as for C3G.
About ANCA-Associated Vasculitis
ANCA-associated vasculitis is an umbrella term for a group of multi-system autoimmune diseases with small vessel inflammation. Inflamed vessels may rupture or become occluded giving rise to a broad array of clinical symptoms and signs related to a systemic inflammatory response which may result in profound injury and dysfunction in the kidneys, lungs and other organs. Prior to the approval of TAVNEOS, treatment for ANCA-associated vasculitis was limited to courses of non-specific immuno-suppressants (cyclophosphamide or rituximab), combined with the administration of daily glucocorticoids (steroids) for prolonged periods of time, which can be associated with significant clinical risk including death from infection.
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