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The acquisition will add several approved drugs into Amgen’s portfolio, along with potential new medicines from Horizon’s R&D pipeline.
Amgen has agreed to buy Dublin-headquartered biotech company Horizon Therapeutics for $27.8bn in its biggest acquisition to date.
The deal will see Amgen pay $116.50 in cash for each Horizon share, which is a premium of nearly 20pc on Horizon’s closing price of $97.29 per share on 9 December.
The deal values Horizon at $27.8bn on a fully diluted basis and implies an enterprise value of roughly $28.3bn.
Horizon’s share price surged in recent weeks after the company revealed it was in talks with three pharma giants – including Amgen – about a potential takeover.
The acquisition will add several approved drugs into Amgen’s portfolio, including the thyroid eye disease treatment Tepezza.
Amgen CEO and chair Robert A Bradway said the acquisition is in line with its long-term growth strategy of providing innovative medicines that address the needs of “patients who suffer from serious diseases”.
“Amgen’s decades of leadership in inflammation and nephrology, combined with our global presence and world-class biologics capabilities, will enable us to reach many more patients with first-in-class medicines like Tepezza, Krystexxa and Uplizna,” Bradway said.
“Additionally, the potential new medicines in Horizon’s pipeline strongly complement our own R&D portfolio.”
Founded in 2008, Horizon established its global headquarters in Dublin in 2014 following the combination of the businesses Horizon Pharma and Vidara Therapeutics International.
Horizon has more than 2,000 employees worldwide, with hundreds employed in Ireland across a variety of key functions including finance, legal and technical operations.
In May, the biotech shared plans to hire 100 new staff over an 18-month period as it opened its new global headquarters in Dublin.
In 2021, it also purchased a manufacturing facility in Waterford from EirGen Pharma to support the growth of its on-market rare disease medicines and pipeline biologics.
Horizon president, chair and CEO Tim Walbert said the team has built “one of the fastest growing and most respected companies” in the biotechnology industry.
“These accomplishments are all rooted in our employees’ deep commitment, dedication and personal passion for those impacted by rare, autoimmune and severe inflammatory diseases,” Walbert added.
“Amgen is aligned with that commitment and passion and will continue to maximise the value of the current portfolio and pipeline and accelerate the ability to reach more patients globally.”
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