By Sherri Oslick —

On Monday, Amgen Inc. of Thousand Oaks, CA announced that
it would acquire drug company Ilypsa, Inc. of Santa Clara, CA for $420 million
cash.  Ilypsa, formerly Symyx
Therapeutics, is a private company developing non-absorbed, GI based drugs for
phosphate, potassium, and sodium management in patients with chronic kidney
disease.  Following acquisition, Ilypsa
will be a wholly owned subsidiary of Amgen.

Ilypsa has fifteen product candidates in various stages of
development.  Its lead candidate, ILY101,
a phosphate binder for the treatment of hyperphosphatemia in chronic kidney
disease (CKD) patients on hemodialysis, is currently in Phase II trials.  Ilypsa’s patent portfolio includes at least six published
U.S. patent applications.

For additional information regarding the acquisition, please see:

• Amgen’s press release
• Ilypsa’s press release