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Acquisition Adds Differentiated Investigational Molecule Designed to Treat Acute Myeloid Leukemia

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif., Jan. 6, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Amgen (NASDAQ: AMGN) today announced its acquisition of Dark Blue Therapeutics Ltd., a privately held biotechnology company based in the United Kingdom advancing first-in-class, small molecule-targeted protein degraders for oncology, in a transaction valued at up to $840 million.  

The acquisition adds to Amgen‘s portfolio an investigational small molecule that targets and degrades two proteins (MLLT1/3) that drive specific types of acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a fast-growing blood cancer. Preclinical data in leukemia models demonstrate promising anti-cancer activity and mechanistic differentiation from currently available therapies, establishing the rationale for single-agent and combination use to overcome treatment resistance and enhance durability of remission.

“Acute myeloid leukemia remains one of the most difficult cancers to treat, and we see an urgent need for new mechanisms capable of changing the trajectory of this disease,” said Jay Bradner, M.D., executive vice president of Research and Development at Amgen. “This acquisition complements and extends our research in targeted protein degradation and leukemia therapeutics, advancing our strategy to invest early in rising medicines for novel therapeutic targets. The adjacency of this program to our considered expertise in cancer biology will propel MLLT1/3-targeting medicines to clinical investigation for patients facing the challenging diagnosis of AML.”

Amgen expects to integrate Dark Blue Therapeutics into its existing research organization, further strengthening the company’s early oncology discovery efforts.

About Amgen   
Amgen discovers, develops, manufactures and delivers innovative medicines to help millions of patients in their fight against some of the world’s toughest diseases. More than 40 years ago, Amgen helped to establish the biotechnology industry and remains on the cutting-edge of innovation, using technology and human genetic data to push beyond what’s known today. Amgen is advancing a broad and deep pipeline that builds on its existing portfolio of medicines to treat cancer, heart disease, osteoporosis, inflammatory diseases and rare diseases.  

In 2024, Amgen was named one of the “World’s Most Innovative Companies” by Fast Company and one of “America’s Best Large Employers” by Forbes, among other external recognitions. Amgen is one of the 30 companies that comprise the Dow Jones Industrial Average^®, and it is also part of the Nasdaq-100 Index^®, which includes the largest and most innovative non-financial companies listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market based on market capitalization. 

For more information, visit Amgen.com and follow Amgen on X, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube and Threads.  

Amgen Forward-Looking Statements 
This news release contains forward-looking statements that are based on the current expectations and beliefs of Amgen. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements, including any statements on the outcome, benefits and synergies of collaborations, or potential collaborations, with any other company (including BeOne Medicines Ltd. or Kyowa Kirin Co., Ltd.), the performance of Otezla® (apremilast), our acquisitions of ChemoCentryx, Inc. or Horizon Therapeutics plc (including the prospective performance and outlook of Horizon’s business, performance and opportunities, and any potential strategic benefits, synergies or opportunities expected as a result of such acquisition), as well as estimates of revenues, operating margins, capital expenditures, cash, other financial metrics, expected legal, arbitration, political, regulatory or clinical results or practices, customer and prescriber patterns or practices, reimbursement activities and outcomes, effects of pandemics or other widespread health problems on our business, outcomes, progress, and other such estimates and results. Forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties, including those discussed below and more fully described in the Securities and Exchange Commission reports filed by Amgen, including our most recent annual report on Form 10-K and any subsequent periodic reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K. Unless otherwise noted, Amgen is providing this information as of the date of this news release and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this document as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed and actual results may differ materially from those we project. Our results may be affected by our ability to successfully market both new and existing products domestically and internationally, clinical and regulatory developments involving current and future products, sales growth of recently launched products, competition from other products including biosimilars, difficulties or delays in manufacturing our products and global economic conditions, including those resulting from geopolitical relations and government actions. In addition, sales of our products are affected by pricing pressure, political and public scrutiny and reimbursement policies imposed by third-party payers, including governments, private insurance plans and managed care providers and may be affected by regulatory, clinical and guideline developments and domestic and international trends toward managed care and healthcare cost containment. Furthermore, our research, testing, pricing, marketing and other operations are subject to extensive regulation by domestic and foreign government regulatory authorities. We or others could identify safety, side effects or manufacturing problems with our products, including our devices, after they are on the market. Our business may be impacted by government investigations, litigation and product liability claims. In addition, our business may be impacted by the adoption of new tax legislation or exposure to additional tax liabilities. Further, while we routinely obtain patents for our products and technology, the protection offered by our patents and patent applications may be challenged, invalidated or circumvented by our competitors, or we may fail to prevail in present and future intellectual property litigation. We perform a substantial amount of our commercial manufacturing activities at a few key facilities, including in Puerto Rico, and also depend on third parties for a portion of our manufacturing activities, and limits on supply may constrain sales of certain of our current products and product candidate development. An outbreak of disease or similar public health threat, and the public and governmental effort to mitigate against the spread of such disease, could have a significant adverse effect on the supply of materials for our manufacturing activities, the distribution of our products, the commercialization of our product candidates, and our clinical trial operations, and any such events may have a material adverse effect on our product development, product sales, business and results of operations. We rely on collaborations with third parties for the development of some of our product candidates and for the commercialization and sales of some of our commercial products. In addition, we compete with other companies with respect to many of our marketed products as well as for the discovery and development of new products. Discovery or identification of new product candidates or development of new indications for existing products cannot be guaranteed and movement from concept to product is uncertain; consequently, there can be no guarantee that any particular product candidate or development of a new indication for an existing product will be successful and become a commercial product. Further, some raw materials, medical devices and component parts for our products are supplied by sole third-party suppliers. Certain of our distributors, customers and payers have substantial purchasing leverage in their dealings with us. The discovery of significant problems with a product similar to one of our products that implicate an entire class of products could have a material adverse effect on sales of the affected products and on our business and results of operations. Our efforts to collaborate with or acquire other companies, products or technology, and to integrate the operations of companies or to support the products or technology we have acquired, may not be successful. There can be no guarantee that we will be able to realize any of the strategic benefits, synergies or opportunities arising from the Horizon acquisition, and such benefits, synergies or opportunities may take longer to realize than expected. We may not be able to successfully integrate Horizon, and such integration may take longer, be more difficult or cost more than expected. A breakdown, cyberattack or information security breach of our information technology systems could compromise the confidentiality, integrity and availability of our systems and our data. Our stock price is volatile and may be affected by a number of events. Our business and operations may be negatively affected by the failure, or perceived failure, of achieving our sustainability objectives. The effects of global climate change and related natural disasters could negatively affect our business and operations. Global economic conditions may magnify certain risks that affect our business. Our business performance could affect or limit the ability of our Board of Directors to declare a dividend or our ability to pay a dividend or repurchase our common stock. We may not be able to access the capital and credit markets on terms that are favorable to us, or at all.

CONTACT: Amgen, Thousand OaksElissa Snook, 609-251-1407 (media) Casey Capparelli, 805-447-1746 (investors)  

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SOURCE Amgen

All Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) households will soon benefit from weekly food waste collections as the council prepares to launch a new service from the 6 April 2026.

This means that all Poole homes and flats in Bournemouth which don’t yet have food waste collection, will soon get weekly pick-ups – joining all the other householders across Bournemouth and Christchurch who are already able to recycle their food waste.

The new service will be rolled out to more than 100,000 households.

The update comes as part of the UK Government’s Simpler Recycling reforms, designed to make recycling easier and more consistent across England For BCP residents, these changes mean a consistent food waste recycling service for everyone, so no matter where you live the rules will be the same and recycling will be simpler.

From January to March 2026, all households in Poole and flats in Bournemouth will be delivered everything they need to get started. Individual households will receive a kitchen caddy and an external food waste bin, and flats will receive a kitchen caddy and communal external food waste bin.

The new food waste collection service will start from 6 April 2026. Food waste will be collected every week on the same day as your rubbish and recycling by a separate lorry. This makes it easy for everyone to recycle as part of their daily routine.

What happens to your food waste after it’s collected?

This ensures that every food scrap collected becomes a beneficial resource for the region.

Councillor Andy Hadley, Cabinet Member for Sustainability and Environment said: 

“Most people in BCP already recycle, and these changes will make it even simpler. By having one clear system for everyone, we’re removing confusion and making recycling part of everyday life.

“Our aim is to help everyone to recycle more and every effort you make – big or small – makes a difference. Being mindful of the food you throw away, and finding ways to cut back on this waste, will also save you money. On average, households in the UK discard £700 worth of edible food every year!”

Around 30% of our household rubbish bin contents are food waste and separating this out cuts down on the amount of waste that ends up in landfill or other disposal sites – reducing greenhouse gas emissions which have a harmful impact on the environment.

Every bit of food waste recycled helps cut council spending – meaning more money can go towards services that benefit everyone in the community.

Residents who are already composting at home do not need to change this. Home composting is the best way to deal with uncooked food waste such as fruit and vegetable peelings. The new food waste recycling service will collect anything you don’t compost at home such as meat, fish, bones, cooked food, dairy products.

For more details about the new food waste recycling service, please visit bcpcouncil.gov.uk/new-food-waste-collections

Together, we can create positive change—one peel at a time.

Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said Elon Musk’s X must urgently deal with its artificial intelligence Grok being used to create sexualised deepfake images.

She backed regulator Ofcom, which is looking into X and xAI, the firm founded by Mr Musk which created Grok, to take “any enforcement action” deemed necessary.

Users of social media platform X appear to have prompted Grok to generate images of children “in minimal clothing”.

A post on the Grok X account said that there have been “isolated cases where users prompted for and received AI images depicting minors in minimal clothing”, and added: “xAI has safeguards, but improvements are ongoing to block such requests entirely.”

Ms Kendall said: “What we have been seeing online in recent days has been absolutely appalling, and unacceptable in decent society.

“No one should have to go through the ordeal of seeing intimate deepfakes of themselves online.

“We cannot and will not allow the proliferation of these demeaning and degrading images, which are disproportionately aimed at women and girls.

“X needs to deal with this urgently.

“It is absolutely right that Ofcom is looking into this as a matter of urgency and it has my full backing to take any enforcement action it deems necessary.”

Ms Kendall said efforts to curb the spread of fake nude images were not about restricting freedom of expression.

Donald Trump’s US administration has hit out at European regulators and online safety campaigners for attempts to regulate what appears online on American platforms.

But Ms Kendall said: “Services and operators have a clear obligation to act appropriately. This is not about restricting freedom of speech but upholding the law.

“We have made intimate image abuse and cyberflashing priority offences under the Online Safety Act – including where images are AI-generated. This means platforms must prevent such content from appearing online and act swiftly to remove it if it does.

“Violence against women and girls stains our society – and that is why we have also legislated to ban the creation of explicit deepfakes without consent, which are both degrading and harmful.

“Make no mistake – the UK will not tolerate the endless proliferation of disgusting and abusive material online. We must all come together to stamp it out.”

In response to a Press Association request for a comment on Ms Kendall’s statement, an automated response from xAI said: “Legacy media lies.”

But Grok’s account on X responded by saying: “We appreciate the feedback and take concerns about deepfakes seriously. xAI is actively enhancing Grok’s safeguards to prevent harmful content, including better blocking of inappropriate prompts.

“We’re committed to complying with regulations and supporting a safer online environment.”

Tech tycoon Mr Musk has previously insisted that “anyone using Grok to make illegal content will suffer the same consequences as if they uploaded illegal content”.

X has said it takes action against illegal content, including child sexual abuse material “by removing it, permanently suspending accounts, and working with local governments and law enforcement as necessary”.

The Centre of Expertise on child sexual abuse (CSA Centre), which is funded by the Home Office and hosted by Barnardo’s, said the “use of artificial intelligence tools to produce child sexual abuse material is deeply concerning”.

Its director, Ian Dean, added: “It is essential that policy makers and the companies responsible for these platforms work together to ensure they are safe places for children and young people to participate while free from harm.”