Pharma BD Deal Intelligence

Amgen Inc. / Onyx Pharmaceuticals

2013 · Acquisition/Merger · $10.4B · Complete

A $10.4B acquisition that gave Amgen sole ownership of Kyprolis, deepening its oncology portfolio in blood cancer. The deal marked one of Amgen's largest-ever bolt-on acquisitions to expand beyond its legacy biologics base.

CALLED IT — OFF BY 4
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The coverage arc

Aug 26, 2004 Wikipedia Neutral

Amgen acquired Onyx Pharmaceuticals for $10.4B for cancer drug portfolio.

Nov 02, 2016 BioSpace Bearish

Kyprolis failed its Phase III Clarion trial, showing survival rates on par with generic Velcade rather than superiority — a major pipeline failure to the tune…

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Amgen acquired Onyx Pharmaceuticals for $10.4B for cancer drug portfolio.

Key facts

Disease & market context

Multiple Myeloma

30K US cases/yr · $8.0B Global Multiple Myeloma Market (2013) · $280M Kyprolis Revenue (2013, first full year)

Disease Overview

Multiple myeloma treatment in 2013 centered on proteasome inhibitors and immunomodulators. Kyprolis (carfilzomib), a next-generation proteasome inhibitor, had just received accelerated FDA approval in July 2012 for relapsed/refractory MM after at least two prior therapies, positioning it as a successor to Velcade.

Competitive Landscape

Kyprolis competed directly with Takeda/J&J's Velcade (bortezomib, $2.6B global sales) as a proteasome inhibitor, but with a differentiated irreversible binding mechanism and potentially better tolerability (less neuropathy). Celgene's Revlimid ($4.3B) dominated the IMiD class. The deal gave Amgen an immediate oncology revenue stream and a platform to expand in hematology, with Kyprolis eventually reaching $1.1B in peak sales.

Deal timeline

Related deals — scored

DealYearValueOutcome
Amgen Inc. / Onyx Pharmaceuticals (this deal)2013$10.4B67
Amgen Inc. / Immunex Corporation2002$16.0B92
Amgen Inc. / Immunex Corporation2001$16.0B91
Amgen Inc. / Micromet Inc.2012$1.2B88
Amgen Inc. / Five Prime Therapeutics2021$1.9B78
Amgen Inc. / Horizon Therapeutics plc2022$27.8B72
Amgen Inc. / Otezla (from Celgene/BMS)2019$13.4B68

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