Amgen Buys into BeiGene

Our biotech pharma investment Amgen has made some interesting moves in the last week. As long-time holders of this stock know, it owns a wide portfolio of patented drugs for treating inflammation and arthritis, cardiovascular disease, cancer, migraines, bone injuries and skin disorders.

The first notable development was their announcement last week that they are exiting the neuroscience area. That means treatments targeting the problems in the brain and central nervous system. In particular, they are quitting the search for a cure to Alzheimer's. They will obviously continue to support Aimovig, their (probable) blockbuster migraine treatment.

Alzheimer's remains a brutal field to try to make any progress in. Scientists still don't know the molecular basis of the disease, and the most well-founded hypothesis up until now has been definitively wiped out. The trials are large, long, and expensive. More here: Amgen and Neuroscience.

The second move was an announcement last Thursday that Amgen has entered into a strategic collaboration with BeiGene, a Chinese pharma company based in Beijing and listed in Hong Kong and New York. The partnership will focus on cancer drugs that are marketed already and those that are still in the development pipeline. The aim is to accelerate Amgen's footprint in China. Amgen will acquire a 20.5% stake in BeiGene for $2.7 billion in cash.

More about this transaction here: Amgen takes 20.5% stake in BeiGene to sell cancer drugs in China.