Amgen, of Thousand Oaks, Calif., will acquire Rockville, Md.-based Micromet for $11 per share in cash, or approximately $1.16 billion. The deal was unanimously approved by both the Amgen and Micromet boards of directors.

The acquisition includes blinatumomab, a Bispecific T-cell Engager (BiTE) antibody in phase II clinical development for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Blinatumomab is also in clinical development for the treatment of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), and could have applications in other hematologic malignancies.

Micromet, a biotechnology company, was founded in Germany and has its R&D center in Munich.

"The acquisition of Micromet is an opportunity to acquire an innovative oncology asset with global rights and a validated technology platform with broad potential clinical applications," said Kevin Sharer, chairman and CEO of Amgen. "Blinatumomab will serve as an important complement to our oncology pipeline and is representative of our corporate strategy, which is focused on developing and successfully commercializing therapeutics to treat patients with grievous illness."

The acquisition gives Amgen the following:

Blinatumomab, a BiTE antibody that has demonstrated encouraging single-agent activity in both adult and pediatric patients with ALL as well as adult patients with NHL, and is currently under investigation in five trials: two phase II trials for adult patients with relapsed/refractory ALL; a phase I/II trial for pediatric patients with relapsed/refractory ALL; a phase II trial for adult ALL patients with minimal residual disease (MRD); a phase I trial for adult patients with relapsed/refractory NHL;

Proprietary BiTE antibody technology, which provides an innovative, validated platform for future clinical research;

Potential milestone and royalty payments from existing licensees of BiTE and other technologies;

Unencumbered rights to solitomab, a BiTE antibody in phase I for patients with advanced solid tumors;

Micromet's Munich site, which will operate as an Amgen R&D center of excellence.

"We believe that this transaction represents an attractive opportunity for Micromet, its stockholders and cancer patients," said Christian Itin, Ph.D., Micromet's president and CEO. "Amgen's extensive resources and experience in the development and commercialization of biologics promise to speed blinatumomab's path to market, expand its development across a broader range of B-cell malignancies and maximize the full potential of our novel BiTE technology."