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Amgen To Enhance Rare Disease Franchise With $27.8bn Horizon Takeover

Wins Three-Horse Race With Sanofi And J&J

 
• By Ayisha Sharma

The US major has announced its biggest acquisition to date in the form of a takeover that should expand its rare disease franchise and stave off concerns about internal products facing biosimilar competition.  

Close up of shaking hands
Amgen Plans To Expand The Global Footprint For Uplizna and Tepezza • Source: Shutterstock

After much speculation, Amgen, Inc. has announced it will acquire Horizon Therapeutics plc in a $27.8bn cash deal expected to strengthen its rare disease offering and extend its long-term growth potential, after rivals Sanofi and Johnson & Johnson dropped out of the contest for the Dublin-based biotech.

The deal value represents a premium of around 48% on the closing price of $78.76 per share on 29 November, the final value before Horizon unveiled the takeover plans and a near 20% increase on the stock's price on 9 December

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