AstraZeneca and Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) have successfully completed the acquisition of Amylin Pharmaceuticals. AstraZeneca has made an initial payment of approximately $3.2 billion to Amylin Pharmaceuticals, now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bristol-Myers Squibb.  The payment is being made in connection with the expansion of the diabetes alliance between AstraZeneca and BMS to incorporate the development and marketing of Amylin’s portfolio of diabetes products. The profits and losses arising from the collaboration will be shared equally.

AstraZeneca has also informed BMS of its intention to exercise its option to acquire certain additional governance rights over key strategic and financial decisions regarding Amylin’s portfolio. The rights to this option will become effective once the applicable anti-trust and competition approvals are received by AstraZeneca. Upon the exercise of the option an additional payment of $135 million will be made to BMS.

Simon Lowth, interim CEO, AstraZeneca, said: “We are delighted to have successfully completed the expansion of our diabetes alliance with Bristol-Myers Squibb through the addition of Amylin’s GLP-1 franchise, creating a broader disease management platform for patients, physicians and payers. We are looking forward to working with the team at Amylin to build on their success and maximise AstraZeneca’s and Bristol-Myers Squibb’s combined capabilities to make these innovative treatments available to diabetes patients across the world.”

Lamberto Andreotti, CEO, Bristol-Myers Squibb, said: “The completion of our acquisition of Amylin and the expansion of our diabetes alliance with AstraZeneca will increase and strengthen our innovative portfolio of diabetes medicines, extending its reach across the spectrum of treatment options. We are pleased to have the opportunity to work together to build on the innovative portfolio, state-of-the art manufacturing facilities and dedicated customer focus that the talented people at Amylin have created.”

Bristol-Myers Squibb and AstraZeneca entered into a collaboration in January 2007 to enable the companies to research, develop and commercialise certain investigational drugs for type 2 diabetes. The expansion of the collaboration covers the co-development and marketing of products in the Amylin Pharmaceuticals portfolio, which include GLP-1 agonists, Byetta (exenatide) and Bydureon (exenatide extended-release for injectable suspension/exenatide 2 mg powder and solvent for prolonged release suspension for injection), for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, metreleptin, an investigational leptin analogue currently under review by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of lipodystrophy, and Symlin (pramlintide acetate), an amylin analogue, approved by the FDA for the treatment of type 1 and type 2 diabetes patients with inadequate glycaemic control on meal-time insulin.

Amylin is committed to delivering novel therapies that transform the way diabetes and other metabolic disorders are treated. The acquisition of Amylin by BMS was completed 9 August 2012.