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Drug Discovery and Development

Amgen finalizes Teneobio acquisition

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AmgenAmgen (NSDQ:AMGN) has acquired privately-held immunotherapy specialist Teneobio (Newark, California).

The transaction includes an upfront $900 million upfront payment and future contingent milestone payments worth up to an additional $1.6 billion.

Tenebio’s stated mission was to tap human heavy-chain antibodies to “redirect the immune system to safely fight disease.”

Earlier this year, it had three drug candidates—TNB-383B, TNB-486 and TNB-58—in Phase 1 trials. The company had 11 additional candidates in earlier stages of discovery and development.

Amgen believes that the acquisition will complement its work on T-cell engagers and bi- and multispecific biologics. “Teneobio’s expertise and technologies will further expand our repertoire of multispecific architectures and advance our overarching mission to develop transformative innovation to bring to market best-in-class products to serve our patients,” said Dr. David M. Reese, executive vice president of R&D at Amgen, in a statement.

Amgen noted that TNB-585, a bispecific T-cell engager for metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer, has the potential for near-term Investigational New Drug (IND) filings.

TNB-585 will become part of Amgen’s prostate cancer portfolio, including two other drugs in Phase 1 trials.

Before the acquisition, Teneobio distributed some assets to its equity holders related to three affiliates dubbed “TeneoTwo,” “TeneoFour” and “TeneoTen.” Among the included assets were TNB-486, anti-CD38 antibodies and bispecific antibodies targeting the hepatitis B surface antigen and CD3.

The company had partnerships with several Big Pharma firms, including AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV), Janssen (NYSE:JNJ), GSK (NYSE:GSK) and Gilead‘s Kite (NSDQ:GILD).

 

 

Filed Under: clinical trials, Drug Discovery, Oncology
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About The Author

Brian Buntz

As the pharma and biotech editor at WTWH Media, Brian has almost two decades of experience in B2B media, with a focus on healthcare and technology. While he has long maintained a keen interest in AI, more recently Brian has made making data analysis a central focus, and is exploring tools ranging from NLP and clustering to predictive analytics.

Throughout his 18-year tenure, Brian has covered an array of life science topics, including clinical trials, medical devices, and drug discovery and development. Prior to WTWH, he held the title of content director at Informa, where he focused on topics such as connected devices, cybersecurity, AI and Industry 4.0. A dedicated decade at UBM saw Brian providing in-depth coverage of the medical device sector. Engage with Brian on LinkedIn or drop him an email at bbuntz@wtwhmedia.com.

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