University of Oxford spinout Dark Blue Therapeutics, a discovery and development biotech company pioneering the next generation of precision oncology medicines, has been acquired by Amgen in a deal worth up to £622m.
By targeting a specific vulnerability in cancer cells, Dark Blue’s lead candidate DBT 3757 is a first-in-class therapeutic strategy for acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) and acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL).
The candidate has the potential for producing strong, broad and durable responses as an effective single-agent therapy. Its safety profile also suggests it could serve as a foundation for combination treatments earlier in therapeutic courses.
Dark Blue Therapeutics has been supported by investors Oxford Science Enterprises (OSE), Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) and Evotec.
“Amgen has the expertise, resources and commitment to accelerate development of DBT 3757 to treat patients with acute leukaemia, including those that do not respond to current standard therapies,” says Alastair MacKinnon, CEO at Dark Blue Therapeutics.
“With its world-leading capabilities in oncology and deep experience in developing, manufacturing, and commercialising novel medicines, we are confident that Amgen will build on our pre-clinical work to bring DBT 3757 to the patients who urgently need new treatment options.”
Amgen expects to integrate Dark Blue Therapeutics into its existing research organisation, further strengthening the company’s early oncology discovery efforts.
“Acute myeloid leukaemia remains one of the most difficult cancers to treat, and we see an urgent need for new mechanisms capable of changing the trajectory of this disease,” says Jay Bradner, executive vice president of research and development at Amgen.
“This acquisition complements and extends our research in targeted protein degradation and leukaemia therapeutics, advancing our strategy to invest early in rising medicines for novel therapeutic targets.”
The deal marks the second major sale from OSE in six months, following the acquisition of Oxford Ionics by IonQ.