Amgen, Bind collaborate to develop cancer drugs

Amgen Inc will be spending $180.5 million to develop cancer drugs using nanotechnology from the closely held Bind Biosciences. The two companies will share the preclinical development of drugs that will target and block enzymes associated cancer.

The medicine will developed by Amgen based in Thousand Oaks in California. It will be delivered using technology developed by Bind based in Cambridge in Massachusetts and founded by Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Robert Langer and Omid Farokhzad, an associate professor at Harvard Medical School.

The Bind Technology is meant to selectively target the cancer cells that make it easier to deliver more potent doses of the drug there without poisoning healthy tissue.

After the particles locate the cancer tissue, they can release the Amgen drug.

According to Bind, this can lead to fewer side-effects. Both the companies together will share the preclinical work and Amgen will handle the clinical development.

“The technology of Bind is well aligned with Amgen’s focus on developing of highly targeted and selective oncology therapeutics,” said Joseph P. Miletich, Senior Vice President of research and development at Amgen. Mr. Joseph also said, “We look forward to collaborating with the Bind scientific team to leverage this technology to address unmet medical needs of cancer patients.”

Bind will also get upfront and development milestone payments of $46.5 million with an additional $134 million and sales milestones. Besides, if the product is commercialized, Bind will receive royalties.

Amgen Inc develops and manufactures and delivers human therapeutics. It is one of the first companies to realize the new science’s promise by bringing safe and effective medicines from lab, to manufacturing plant to patient.