Amgen finalises purchase of Alantos

Amgen has announced that it has completed its acquisition of privately-held pharmaceutical company Alantos, a firm involved in the development of compounds used to treat inflammatory diseases and diseases.

This transaction was originally announced by the company on June 6th 2007, with the firm reporting the sum paid for the company to be $300 million (147.7 million pounds).

“The transaction provides Amgen with Alantos’s DPP-IV inhibitor in clinical development (phase IIa) for the treatment of type II diabetes as well as its matrix metalloproteinases platform for osteoarthritis,” Amgen reports.

An orally-administered compound, ALS 2-0426 inactivates glucagon-like peptide-1, which is a vital mediator of blood sugar levels in patients following meals.

In June, Amgen reported that the phase II studies of the drug had been initiated a month earlier in partnership with Servier, the development ex-US marketing partner for ALS 2-0426.

In October 2006, Amgen announced the acquisition of Avidia, a firm focused on the discovery and development of candidate drug products in a new class of therapy known as Avimer proteins.

That agreement saw Amgen pay an initial fee of $290 million, with a further $90 million to be paid upon the attainment of specified landmarks, with Amgen inheriting the company’s lead compound, an interleukin-6 inhibitor currently in phase I clinical trials.