Amgen to Pay $315M for Privately-Held KAI Pharma

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) said on Tuesday it would pay $315 million in cash to acquire privately-held drug maker KAI Pharmaceuticals, scoring an experimental treatment for a symptom of chronic kidney disease.

Thousand Oaks, Calif.-based Amgen has also provided a loan to enable late-stage clinical development planning for the investigational product, known as KAI-4169.

The drug is being studied for the treatment of secondary hyperparathyroidism, which leads to deformed or fractured bones or swollen joints, in patients with kidney diseases. It is administered intravenously at the same time the patient is undergoing dialysis.

With the KAI purchase, Amgen gets worldwide rights, excluding Japan, to KAI-4169.

“KAI has demonstrated encouraging results in the clinic," said Dr. Sean Harper, executive vice president of research and development at Amgen. “We are excited about acquiring KAI, as well as the opportunity to potentially deliver a novel therapy for chronic kidney disease patients on dialysis suffering from secondary hyperparathyroidism.”

The transaction has been approved by the shareholders and boards of directors of both companies. It is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. Once accepted, San Francisco-based KAI will be a wholly-owned subsidiary of Amgen.