Investment banker turned biotech chief executive, Robert Bradway, staked a claim as a savvy dealmaker with Amgen’s successful acquisition of Onyx Pharmaceuticals for more than US$10 billion.
In doing so, he managed to avoid falling into traps that an inexperienced chief executive might make with the stakes so high, while potentially quieting some criticism over the choice of a former banker to lead the world’s largest biotechnology company.
“Because of his experience as an investment banker, he was able to avoid a lot of the mistakes that a lot of rookie CEOs make in acquisitions,” said a source familiar with the sale process, who wished to remain anonymous because he is not permitted to speak to the media.
“He was very disciplined and was willing to wait effectively two months for the process to play out,” the person added.
The deal gives Amgen an immediate new revenue stream, bolsters its drug development pipeline and places Amgen much more solidly into the oncology space, which features among the most high priced and highly sought after medicines in the healthcare industry.
Bradway, 50, who was a healthcare investment banker at Morgan Stanley prior to joining Amgen in 2006, replaced long-time chief executive Kevin Sharer in May of last year, after stints as vice president of operations strategy and chief financial officer.