Monday, December 19, 2011

Amgen Inks $400M Deal With Generics Maker Watson Pharmaceuticls

Thousad Oaks-based Amgen said Monday that it has inked a $400M, co-development deal with Watson Pharmaceuticals, where they two will work together on oncology antibody biosimilar medicines. The two said that Amgen will assume primarily responsibility for developing, manufacturing and initially commercializing the oncology antibody products, with Watson contributing the $400M for co-development costs, receiving royalties and sales milestones from product revenues. Biosimilar medicines are copycats of biotech drugs, but which, unlike common generic drugs, are much more difficult to develop and manufacture. The deal applies Amgen's manufacturing know-how with Watson's funding, plus presence in the generics market. The two said that they will not be pursuing biosimilars of Amgen's own products.

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