Amgen Inc. on Monday said it would acquire the roughly 80 percent of Tularik Inc. it does not already own for $1.3 billion, gaining access to technology meant to treat cancer and inflammation by regulating genes.
Amgen, the world's largest biotechnology company, said it planned to acquire the small biotechnology company in an all-stock deal by the second half of the year.
Under the terms of the deal, Amgen will exchange Tularik common stock for Amgen common stock in a ratio that fixes Tularik's value at $25 per share, providing a 47 percent premium to Tularik's closing share price of $17 on Friday.
Amgen, based in Thousand Oaks, California, last year acquired 21.3 percent of Tularik as part of a collaboration to develop new cancer drugs. The new deal pushes Amgen further into development of drugs to treat inflammatory diseases.
In one of the biggest biotech deals ever, Amgen two years ago paid $10 billion for Immunex, acquiring its injectable treatment for rheumatoid arthritis, Enbrel, which generated sales of $1.3 billion last year.
Tularik's gene-regulation technology focuses on selectively blocking the cascade of chemical reactions in the body that can cause diseases, including inflammation, which has been increasingly linked to major illnesses such as heart disease and arthritis.
Amgen, which sells blockbuster anemia drugs Epogen and Aranesp and infection-fighters Neupogen and Neulasta, said it still expects to earn between $2.30 and $2.40 per share this year.
