Amgen to Buy Biotech Firm

Biotechnology company Amgen Inc. said Friday that it would buy privately held Avidia Inc. for $290 million in cash and additional milestone payments.

Avidia, a biopharmaceutical company, is developing a class of therapeutics called Avimer proteins. The deal gives Thousand Oaks-based Amgen a lead product candidate for the treatment of inflammation and autoimmune diseases, currently in early stage clinical trials.

Both companies’ boards have approved the deal, which includes as much as an additional $90 million for achieving certain milestones. Amgen Ventures, the company’s investment division, already owns 4% of Avidia.

“The Avimer technology is among the most attractive protein-based technologies currently under development,” Roger M. Perlmutter, Amgen’s executive vice president for research and development, said in a statement. “Avimers may have several advantages as therapeutic products in terms of biological activity, tissue distribution, reduced immunogenicity and improved manufacturing efficiencies.”

The deal is expected to close during the fourth quarter, at which point Mountain View, Calif.-based Avidia will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Amgen. The Food and Drug Administration this week approved Amgen’s colon cancer drug Vectibix, which competes with ImClone Systems Inc.’s cancer drug Erbitux.

Shares of Amgen fell 2 cents to $71.53 on Friday.