Amgen Bulks Up Cancer Pipeline With $1.9 Billion Five Prime Deal

Amgen Inc. said that it had agreed to buy Five Prime Therapeutics Inc. for $1.9 billion in cash, in a deal that will add new cancer therapies to the pharmaceutical giant’s pipeline.

Under the terms of the proposed transaction, Amgen will pay $38 a share for Five Prime, a substantial premium over its closing stock price of $21.26 on Wednesday, according to a statement from the companies Thursday.

Five Prime shares were halted in premarket trading, while Amgen shares were up 1.9%.

While the pandemic has caused many investors to focus on vaccines and therapeutics for the coronavirus, numerous drugmakers ...