Dark Blue Therapeutics acquired by Amgen to bolster oncology pipeline

06 January 2026

Dark BlueTherapeutics, located at The Oxford Science Park, has been acquired by global biopharmaceutical company Amgen, in a transaction valued at up to $840 million.

Based on unique academic insights from the University of Oxford, the team at Dark Blue Therapeutics are developing a small molecule that targets and degrades two proteins that drive specific types of acute myeloid leukemia, a fast-growing blood cancer.

Dark Blue says its lead candidate DBT 3757 represents a first-in-class therapeutic strategy for acute myeloid leukemia and acute lymphoblastic leukemia, with the potential for producing strong, broad and durable responses as an effective single-agent therapy.

Alastair MacKinnon, CEO of Dark Blue Therapeutics, said: "Amgen has the expertise, resources and commitment to accelerate development of DBT 3757 to treat patients with acute leukemia, including those that do not respond to current standard therapies.

"With its world-leading capabilities in oncology and deep experience in developing, manufacturing, and commercializing novel medicines, we are confident that Amgen will build on our pre-clinical work to bring DBT 3757 to the patients who urgently need new treatment options.”

Jay Bradner, Executive Vice President of R&D at Amgen, said: "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. 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.”

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Dark Blue Therapeutics acquired by Amgen to bolster oncology pipeline