Rockville-based Micromet, a biopharmaceutical firm that creates antibody-based cancer treatments, has agreed to be purchased for $1.16 billion by Amgen, a biotechnology company headquartered in Thousand Oaks, Calif.
The sale price equates to $11 a share, a 33 percent premium over the company’s closing price on Wednesday. The deal has been approved by the boards of directors at both companies.
The main drug in Micromet’s development pipeline, called blinatumomab, aims to treat patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a progressive form of cancer. The drug is currently in a Phase II trial for that disease and being tested as a possible treatment for others, including non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas.
“Amgen’s extensive resources and experience in the development and commercialization of biologics promise to speed blinatumomab’s path to market, expand its development across a broader range of B-cell malignancies and maximize the full potential of our novel BiTE technology,” Christian Itin, Micromet’s president and chief executive, said in a statement.
The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter, the companies said in a statement. Amgen is advised by Moelis & Co. and Sullivan & Cromwell. Micromet sought financial and legal advice from Goldman, Sachs & Co. and Cooley, respectively.
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