
Amgen said Thursday it will purchase Five Prime Therapeutics for $1.9 billion to obtain a potential treatment for gastric cancer, a move that will also expand the biotech giant’s focus in Asia.
The deal represents a major victory for Five Prime, which traded as low as $2.17 last March. The company’s stock jumped in November, when key results from a study of its gastric cancer drug, bemarituzumab, were released, and have continued to rise since.