Am­gen dis­con­tin­ues prostate can­cer drug in $650M write­down, as obe­si­ty pipeline comes in­to fo­cus in 2024

Am­gen is tak­ing a $650 mil­lion im­pair­ment charge from its ac­qui­si­tion of Teneo­bio, the biotech gi­ant said Tues­day, as it shelves an ex­per­i­men­tal prostate can­cer drug.

The write­down weighed on Am­gen’s op­er­at­ing in­come for the third quar­ter, which fell from $2.7 bil­lion a year ago to $2.0 bil­lion this year. Am­gen paid $900 mil­lion up­front in 2021 to buy the Cal­i­for­nia biotech Teneo­bio and take over its lead can­cer drug, which was re­named AMG 340. Am­gen said it will dis­con­tin­ue an on­go­ing Phase I tri­al of AMG 340. In an in­ter­view ahead of earn­ings, Am­gen CFO Pe­ter Grif­fith said the de­ci­sion was a “repri­or­i­ti­za­tion” based on pos­i­tive Phase Ib re­sults from an­oth­er prostate can­cer drug can­di­date called xalu­ri­ta­mig, or AMG 509.

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