Boehringer to buy Amgen's California facility

Boehringer Ingelheim is to purchase the rights to all assets at Amgen's development and manufacturing facility in Fremont, California.

The deal will go through by the end of March, 2011, with Germany-based pharma company Boehringer taking control of the biotech's plant and workforce of 360 employees. The plant was obtained by Amgen following its acquisition of biopharma Abgenix in 2006.

Financial details of Boehringer's takeover were not disclosed.

"With great enthusiasm, we look forward to welcoming the Amgen Fremont employees into the Boehringer Ingelheim family of companies," said Professor Dr Wolfram Carius, Boehringer Ingelheim board of managing directors. "The technological expertise at Fremont and the state-of-the-art facility will enable us to further strengthen our global contract manufacturing business including new biological entity process development and manufacturing efforts."

Boehringer has had a relationship with Amgen for more than 10 years, acting as a contract manufacturer for products developed by Amgen.

Dr Fabrizio Bonanni, executive vice president of operations, Amgen, said: "We look forward to continuing to work closely with [Boehringer] to support Amgen's delivery of safe and effective medicines to patients around the world."