Amgen to Acquire Rodeo Therapeutics for Over $700 Million to Advance First-in-Class 15-PGDH Inhibitor with Broad Regenerative Potential

March 30, 2021, Thousand Oaks, California and Seattle, Washington – Amgen (NASDAQ: AMGN) and Rodeo Therapeutics Corporation (Rodeo) today announced that they have entered into an agreement. Under the terms of the agreement, Amgen will acquire Rodeo, a privately held biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Seattle, which is dedicated to developing small-molecule therapies designed to promote regeneration and repair of multiple tissues. Rodeo’s 15-PGDH program aligns strongly with Amgen’s inflammation pipeline and its efforts to develop first-in-class therapies for patients.

Under the terms of the agreement, Amgen will acquire all outstanding shares of Rodeo for an upfront payment of $55 million and potential future milestone cash payments of up to $666 million. The transaction has been approved by Rodeo’s shareholders and board of directors.

Rodeo is dedicated to developing first-in-class oral prostaglandin biologics designed to play a pivotal role in tissue regeneration and repair. Rodeo’s 15-hydroxyprostaglandin dehydrogenase (15-PGDH) modulators have yielded compelling data across extensive preclinical studies and demonstrate clinical potential in multiple indications.

“15-PGDH plays a critical role in many disease-related processes, such as stem cell self-renewal and epithelial barrier repair. Given the encouraging preclinical data to date, we are excited about the potential to develop a novel therapy with promise for multiple important inflammatory diseases,” said Dr. Raymond Deshaies, Senior Vice President of Global Research at Amgen.

Thong Q. Le, President and Chief Executive Officer of Rodeo, stated, “We are delighted that Amgen recognizes the potential value and distinctiveness of our 15-PGDH inhibitor program. With decades of experience in developing, manufacturing, and commercializing innovative therapies for various immune-mediated diseases, Amgen is well-positioned to rapidly advance our program toward clinical development.”

WuXi AppTec participated in Rodeo’s Series A financing round and has witnessed the company’s development journey.