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.
Amgen Inc. 's acquisition of
Tularik Inc. and its small-molecule
expertise came as a modest surprise on the heels of Amgen's
first-ever R&D Day on March 23, 2004. [See Deal]
But in hindsight, the event underscored just why Amgen was willing to pay a hefty $1 billion for a company...