According to the Financial Times, Amgen will buy Celgene’s psoriasis drug Otezla for US$13.4 billion in cash, clearing the way for Bristol-Myers Squibb to go ahead with its US$74 billion deal for Celgene by the end of the year.
Amgen, which announced the deal on Monday, August 26, is paying a hefty price for the drug, analysts and investors said. Still, Otezla will deliver growth for the company right away and its shares rose around 2% in early trading.
Bristol-Myers stated in June that it would sell Otezla to allay concerns raised by the Federal Trade Commission because of a competing treatment that it is developing. Analysts said at the time that they were expecting Otezla to sell for around US$8 billion to US$10 billion.
Full Content: Financial Times
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