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Biotechnology firm Amgen Inc. reported fourth-quarter profits, which fell shy of analysts’ expectations on Thursday, sending its shares lower by 1.6 percent.
The Thousand Oaks, Calif.-based company said net income was $934 million, or $1.08 per share, which is a 9 percent decline from the same period last year.
Amgen on Thursday also agreed to take over Micromet, a pharmaceutical company specializing in oncology medicine based in Rockville, Md. The purchase is estimated at $1.2 billion, and would grant Amgen access to Micromet’s research on several treatments for leukemia and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
The deal was approved by the board of both companies, and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2012.
