Amgen Acquires Tularik and Small-Molecule Expertise

Amgen's acquisition of Tularik underscores how important the hunt for small molecules will be to Amgen's future. At the company's recent, first-ever R&D day, management chose not to highlight the fact that Amgen is now moving beyond proteins, its source of historic strength, into the realm of chemistry. But the company clearly is making fundamental changes to its research underpinnings--changes that Tularik can help it pull off.