Amgen will acquire KAI Pharmaceuticals, a privately held pharmaceutical company based in South San Francisco, for $315 million in cash. KAI’s lead product candidate, KAI-4169, is a novel drug being studied for the treatment of secondary hyperparathyroidism (SHPT) in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) who are on dialysis. Amgen will acquire worldwide rights to the drug, excluding Japan.

In connection with the agreement, Amgen has provided a loan for Phase III development for KAI-4169 prior to closing. KAI-4169 is an experimental therapy that is administered intravenously at the same time the patient is undergoing dialysis. The vast majority of CKD patients on dialysis are affected by SHPT, a component of CKD-MBD, which can lead to serious consequences.

“KAI has demonstrated encouraging results in the clinic. We are excited about acquiring KAI, as well as the opportunity to potentially deliver a novel therapy for chronic kidney disease patients on dialysis suffering from secondary hyperparathyroidism,” said Sean E. Harper, M.D., executive vice president of R&D at Amgen.

“KAI and the nephrology community are excited by the additional clinical data we’ve generated for KAI-4169, and we are thrilled that Amgen shares our perspective on the differentiated profile and potential of this product candidate,” said Steve James, president and chief executive officer of KAI. “Amgen is ideally positioned to bring KAI-4169 to market and to patients, given the company’s decades of experience in developing and delivering therapies for patients with chronic kidney disease.”