MedImmune to purchase Amplimmune

AstraZeneca's global biologics research and development arm MedImmune, is to acquire Amplimmune, a privately-held, Maryland, US-based biologics company focused on developing novel therapeutics in cancer immunology.

Under the terms of the agreement, MedImmune will pay an initial US$225m , with up to a further $275m based on Amplimmune reaching predetermined development milestones.

AstraZeneca says the acquisition will bolster MedImmune’s oncology pipeline by adding multiple early-stage assets to its immune-mediated cancer therapy (IMT-C) portfolio, including AMP-514, an anti-programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) monoclonal antibody (mAb). AMP-514 is currently in late-stage pre-clinical development and Amplimmune aims to make an investigational new drug (IND) filing before the end of the year. Other Amplimmune assets include multiple preclinical molecules targeting the B7 pathways.

MedImmune’s oncology research is focused on IMT-C, a therapeutic approach that may lead to durable and prolonged response rates across a range of cancers. IMT-Cs are being designed to use the body's immune system to fight cancer cells.

'MedImmune’s focus on harnessing the power of the patient’s own immune system to fight cancer will be complemented by Amplimmune’s innovative work in this area. It will allow us to strengthen our arsenal of potential cancer therapies,' said Bahija Jallal, Executive Vice-President of MedImmune. MedImmune, with its clinical stage programmes – tremelimumab, anti-OX40 mAb and MEDI-4736 (anti-PD-L1 mAb) – and a robust pre-clinical pipeline, is building one of the most comprehensive programmes in IMT-C.

'Both companies are passionate about developing new cancer therapies for patients and are excited about the potential of immunotherapies. We are pleased to be joining MedImmune, who will work to further advance the pioneering work we’ve been conducting in this area,' said Michael Richman, Amplimmune's President and Chief Executive. 'The synergy achieved by combining our pipelines provides an important path towards developing novel immunotherapy products.'

The deal is subject to customary regulatory approvals and is expected to close in the third quarter of 2013.