It was the industry's biggest deal ever when, in 2002, the world's number one biotechnology company, Amgen, acquired number three, Seattle-based Immunex Corporation. With a final price tag of about $17.8 billion, the stakes were huge, but so was the potential payoff. For Amgen, it meant bolstering our presence in a major new therapeutic area, inflammation; a big boost in research capabilities; access to Seattle's thriving scientific community; new pipeline candidates; and most importantly, ENBREL® (etanercept), a novel and vitally important anti-inflammation therapy that has been described as "a pipeline in a product." For Immunex, Amgen's protein manufacturing expertise meant a solution to ENBREL® manufacturing shortages.

The scale of the integration was unprecedented in the biotechnology industry. But leadership at both companies saw the business and scientific synergies: Amgen's sales and marketing and clinical development capabilities would grow ENBREL® and Immunex's pipeline candidates, Amgen's world-class manufacturing know-how could address the ENBREL® supply problem, and Immunex's significant inflammation research capabilities could place Amgen in a position of industry leadership.

For the patients who needed a reliable supply of ENBREL®, the Immunex deal has been of immeasurable value. For Amgen, the integration was a positive learning experience—one that proved valuable in 2004 with the acquisition of the South San Francisco-based research firm Tularik Inc.