Amgen Acquires UK Biotech Dark Blue Therapeutics

Amgen announced on Jan. 6, 2026 that it has acquired Dark Blue Therapeutics, a biotechnology company located in the United Kingdom (1). The transaction, which is valued at up to $840 million, adds an investigational small molecule to Amgen’s portfolio that targets and degrades two proteins (MLLT1/3) that drive specific types of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). According to the company, anti-cancer activity and mechanistic differentiation have been shown by preclinical data in leukemia models, suggesting single-agent and combination use may be used to overcome treatment resistance and increase remission durability (1).

"Acute myeloid leukemia remains one of the most difficult cancers to treat, and we see an urgent need for new mechanisms capable of changing the trajectory of this disease," said Jay Bradner, M.D., executive vice president of Research and Development at Amgen, in a press release (1). "This acquisition complements and extends our research in targeted protein degradation and leukemia therapeutics, advancing our strategy to invest early in rising medicines for novel therapeutic targets. The adjacency of this program to our considered expertise in cancer biology will propel MLLT1/3-targeting medicines to clinical investigation for patients facing the challenging diagnosis of AML."

What business actions has Amgen made recently?

On Dec. 19, 2025, Amgen announced it was committed to reduce the cost of drugs while continuing to innovate in response to the Trump Administration’s Most Favored Nation pricing requests (2). The company stated it was expanding its direct-to-patient program, AmgenNow, to include Aimovig (erenumab-aooe) and Amjevita (adalimumab-atto) at discounted monthly prices. Amgen launced the program in October 2025 with Repatha® (evolocumab), which it made available at 60% below the current US list price (2).

According to the company, its investments in US manufacturing, up to $2.5 billion in 2025, allowed it to gain relief from industry-specific tariffs for three years. The company is investing $900 million in Ohio and $1 billion in North Carolina (2).

What other advancements have been made in the treatment of AML?

In September 2025, preclinical results published in the journal Leukemia showed the efficacy of a chimeric antigen receptor T cell (CAR-T) therapy developed by Gyala Therapeutics, GYA-01, against AML and T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) (3). According to Gyala Therapeutics, the published study is the first that presents preclinical data with CAR-T cells targeting the CD84 protein, highlighting that protein as a broad hematological target that may expand CAR-T therapy opportunities beyond B-cell malignancies.

According to Gyala, many patients with AML achieve remission with chemotherapy at first; however, almost half of patients relapse following first-line treatment (2). With T-ALL, more than 90% of pediatric patients survive with chemotherapy, but long-term survival in adults is much lower, at approximately 40% (3).

“The preclinical evidence obtained confirms that GYA-01 is a highly promising CAR-T therapy, supports CD84 as a pan-hematological target, and establishes a solid foundation for advancing to clinical trials in patients with AML and T-ALL,” Nela Klein-Gonzalez, MD, PhD, medical director of Gyala Therapeutics and author of the Leukemia article, said in the press release (3). “In these indications, the main challenge for CAR-T therapies is the lack of specific tumor targets.”

References

1. Amgen. Amgen Acquires Dark Blue Therapeutics, Bolstering Oncology Pipeline. Press Release. Jan. 6, 2026. https://www.amgen.com/newsroom/press-releases/2026/01/amgen-acquires-dark-blue-therapeutics-bolstering-oncology-pipeline
2. Amgen. Amgen Takes Action with the U.S. Government to Lower the Cost of Medicines for American Patients. Press Release. Dec. 19, 2025. https://www.amgen.com/newsroom/press-releases/2025/12/amgen-takes-action-with-the-u-s--government-to-lower-the-cost-of-medicines-for-american-patients
3. Gyala Therapeutics. Gyala Therapeutics Unveils First-in-Class CAR-T Therapy Targeting CD84 Showing Strong Preclinical Efficacy in Hard-to-Treat Leukemias. Press Release. Sept. 15, 2025.