Amgen builds in Brazil with Bergamo buy and Hypermarcas deal

Bergamo, which is headquartered in Sao Paulo, owns a number of manufacturing facilities at which it produces drugs for hospitals and clinics across the country. The takeover values the firm at $215m.

The firm generated revenue of some $80m in 2010 and, according to Amgen, has been growing at a rate of around 19 per cent a year since 2007.

Amgen said that, in addition to Bergamo’s manufacturing capacity and market share, another key motivation for the deal was regaining Brazilian rights to the cancer drug Vectibix and the hyperparathyroidism medication Mimpara.

Hypermarcas accord​

In a separate deal with Brazilian supplier Hypermarcas Amgen also bought rights to several other key products it had previously licensed.

The drugs in question, Vectibix and Mimpara, were previously sold in Brazil under license by recent Hypermarcas’ recent $1.47bn acquisition, Sao Paulo-based firm Mantecorp​

Amgen has also regained rights to Nplate, its treatment for the blood disorder idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura which is approved in the US and currently under treview by authorities in Brazil.

Kevin Sharer, Amgen's CEO, said that: "Acquiring Bergamo, a profitable company with an established local infrastructure, and regaining the rights to our products in Brazil, provides us an attractive entry into the Brazilian market."​

Amgen said that the acqusitions are part of its plan to grow in emerging markets and establish itself as a top five pharmaceutical firm by the year 2015.

Deutsche Bank analyst Robyn Karnauskas said predicted that the deals are just the beginning for Amgen, telling Reuters that: “We expect Amgen to continue to be acquisitive and see similar transactions.”