Amgen Inc. apparently was the high bidder in a heated competitionamong biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies to license rightsto an obesity gene discovered last year by scientists at RockefellerUniversity in New York.

Amgen, of Thousand Oaks, Calif., has agreed to pay RockefellerUniversity $20 million up-front for the licensing rights to the geneplus milestone payments that could total another $60 million to $70million. Amgen also would pay royalties to the university on anyproducts developed.

David Kaye, spokesman for Amgen, said the company will becollaborating with Rockefeller University researchers to determinestrategies for developing the gene into diagnostics and therapeutics totreat clinical obesity.

As for the price tag on the technology, Kaye said the potential marketfor products is enormous given the problems associated with obesity,such as diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure.

Kaye said several companies were competing for rights to the gene,but he could not identify the other bidders.

The gene's discovery was reported last December in Nature. Thescientists worked at both Rockefeller University and Howard HughesMedical Institute in New York and the team was led by JeffreyFriedman, head of Rockefeller's molecular genetics laboratory. (SeeBioWorld Today, Dec. 1, 1994, p. 1.)

One out of three adults in the U.S. is considered clinically obese, thatis 20 percent over weight. And according to the researchers, genesare responsible for 60 percent to 90 percent of the variability inpeople's weight.

Obesity is considered a polygenic disease, but the discovery last fallidentified one of the major genes involved in the disorder.

Steven Holtzman, of Millennium Pharmaceuticals Inc., said the pricepaid by Amgen validates the value of the genetics approach to drugdiscovery.

Millennium, a genomics company in Cambridge, Mass., iscollaborating with Switzerland-based Hoffmann-La Roche onidentifying genes involved in obesity and diabetes. Millennium wasamong companies in early discussions with Rockefeller University tolicense the Friedman discovery.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) announced the agreement withRockefeller University after the market closed Tuesday. It's stockended the day at $69, up $3.75. n

-- Charles Craig

(c) 1997 American Health Consultants. All rights reserved.