The Life Sciences team advised Dark Blue Therapeutics Ltd. on its acquisition by Amgen in a transaction valued at up to $840 million. The acquisition adds to Amgen's portfolio an investigational small molecule that targets and degrades two proteins (MLLT1/3) that drive specific types of acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a fast-growing blood cancer. Preclinical data in leukemia models demonstrate promising anti-cancer activity and mechanistic differentiation from currently available therapies, establishing the rationale for single-agent and combination use to overcome treatment resistance and enhance durability of remission.
Dark Blue Therapeutics is deeply embedded in the Oxford science ecosystem with privileged access to world leading science and technology. The Company is reimagining the discovery ecosystem, building integrated teams spanning academia and industry to prosecute world-leading disease and discovery science. Their multiple academic partners sit as part of their project and strategy teams, bringing deep pathway, target and disease insights to their day-to-day operations. Dark Blue leverages this to enable pioneering therapeutic approaches for their targets, which the Company partners with their cutting-edge discovery science to accelerate the identification and development of novel medicines.
The Goodwin deal team was led by Sophie McGrath, Elizabeth Rhodes, and Tim Worden with invaluable assistance from Jacqueline Mercier, Brittany Morreale, Dulcie Daly, Saba Rais, Maria Dragun, Lucy Charlton, Hannah Frost, Heidi McNally, Rachel Conder, Matthew Rees, Gaspard du Chaffaut, and Luke Lim.
For more information on the deal, please read the press release.