Global pharmaceutical company Amgen is acquiring a UK biotech for up to $840 million (approximately 1.21 trillion won) to introduce next-generation precision medicine for blood cancer treatment. The strategy is to secure new drug candidates early for acute myeloid leukemia (AML), which is difficult to treat with existing drugs or has frequent relapses.
Amgen announced on the 6th (local time) that it has signed a contract to acquire Dark Blue Therapeutics, a private biotech based in Oxford, UK. The total deal size, including milestone payments, is up to $840 million. Dark Blue is a startup biotech aiming to develop next-generation precision medicines in the field of cancer.
With this acquisition, Amgen will secure the MLLT1/3 protein degradation-targeted small molecule therapy that Dark Blue is developing. This substance is designed to selectively degrade proteins that cause specific types of acute myeloid leukemia and is currently in the preclinical stage for entry into human clinical trials.
In the announcement of this deal, Amgen stated, "The candidate substance has shown anti-cancer activity in preclinical leukemia models and has demonstrated a mechanism that is differentiated from existing treatments."
This candidate substance is the most advanced in Dark Blue's development pipeline and is expected to be developed both as a monotherapy and in combination therapy. The company anticipates that the indications could expand beyond acute myeloid leukemia to include some solid tumors. Overcoming drug resistance, which is a recurring issue in cancer treatment, and extending the duration of remission are key goals.
Jay Bradner, head of Amgen's Research and Development (R&D), stated, "Acute myeloid leukemia remains one of the most challenging cancers to treat, and there is still a high demand for new mechanisms that can fundamentally change the course of the disease," adding, "This acquisition is an extension of our strategy to expand research capabilities in protein-targeted degradation and leukemia treatment and to strengthen early investments in new therapeutic targets."
In addition to this candidate substance, Dark Blue has a number of early-stage protein degradation-based anti-cancer drug pipelines aimed at innovative drugs (first-in-class). After the acquisition, Dark Blue's research organization and pipeline will be integrated into Amgen's existing research organization.
Founded in 2020, Dark Blue was established based on cancer biology research achievements accumulated at the University of Oxford. The CEO is Alastair MacKinnon, who is a co-founder and former Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of the rare disease treatment company Mereo BioPharma.
