Pharma BD Deal Intelligence
Amgen paid roughly $1.3B in stock for Tularik's five clinical candidates and ~300 Bay Area scientists—none of those candidates ever reached FDA approval, and Amgen wrote off $554M in acquired R&D almost immediately. The lasting outcome was a South San Francisco research site, not a drug.
Amgen paid $1.3-1.5B largely for a Bay Area beachhead and ~300 scientists — none of Tularik's five clinical drug candidates ever reached FDA approval, and Amgen wrote off $554M in acquired IPR&D almost immediately.
Full analysis, sources & comparables →"Amgen is excited about combining with Tularik, a high-science company that is focused on grievous illnesses and that shares our culture," said Kevin Sharer,…
"Amgen, the world's leading independent biotechnology company, has reached agreement to acquire the remaining 79% of fellow California, USA-based Tularik which…
Tularik, founded in 1991 by UC Berkeley Professor Robert Tjian, was acquired by Amgen for $1.3 billion in 2004; pipeline included T67, T607, T131 and…
Source summaries from our enrichment pipeline; follow links for originals.
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Stock-for-stock; remaining 79% stake; small molecule R&D; closed Aug 13 2004
Amgen paid $1.3-1.5B largely for a Bay Area beachhead and ~300 scientists — none of Tularik's five clinical drug candidates ever reached FDA approval, and Amgen wrote off $554M in acquired IPR&D almost immediately.
Assessment window: 15yr post-close.
Hepatocellular carcinoma and upper GI tumors (gastric, esophageal) were among the highest-unmet-need solid tumors in the early 2000s, with limited systemic therapy options beyond chemotherapy and 5-year survival under 20% across stages. Tularik's gene-regulation platform was developing oral small molecules aimed at transcription factor and cell-cycle pathways relevant to these cancers.
In 2004, the oncology landscape was beginning to shift toward targeted small molecules. Novartis's Gleevec (imatinib) had validated kinase inhibition in CML/GIST, AstraZeneca's Iressa (gefitinib) was the first EGFR TKI, and Bayer/Onyx were close to filing Nexavar (sorafenib) for HCC and RCC. Genentech's Avastin (bevacizumab) and Erbitux (cetuximab) were moving solid-tumor antibody therapy forward. Amgen, historically a biologics company anchored by Epogen, Aranesp, Neupogen and Neulasta, was thin in oncology small molecules. Tularik brought five clinical-stage candidates including T67 and T607 in HCC/gastric/esophageal cancers, T131 for diabetes, T71 for obesity, plus a roughly 300-scientist gene-regulation organization in the South San Francisco biotech hub. The deal closed Aug 13 2004 and was less about a single asset than building a Bay Area discovery footprint and a small-molecule capability to complement Amgen's biologics franchise (Berkeley IPIRA, https://ipira.berkeley.edu/tularik-inc-acquired-amgen-inc). Most Tularik clinical programs were ultimately deprioritized; the durable value was the platform and people that fed Amgen's later small-molecule oncology pipeline.
| Deal | Year | Value | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amgen Inc. / Tularik Inc. (this deal) | 2004 | $1.3B | 33 |
| Amgen Inc. / Immunex Corporation | 2002 | $16.0B | 92 |
| Amgen Inc. / Immunex Corporation | 2001 | $16.0B | 91 |
| Amgen Inc. / Micromet Inc. | 2012 | $1.2B | 88 |
| Amgen Inc. / Five Prime Therapeutics | 2021 | $1.9B | 78 |
| Amgen Inc. / Horizon Therapeutics plc | 2022 | $27.8B | 72 |
| Amgen Inc. / Otezla (from Celgene/BMS) | 2019 | $13.4B | 68 |
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More: 2004 deals · Amgen Inc. deals · Immunology deals