Biovex

thousand oaks, calif., march 4, 2011 /prnewswire via comtex/ -- amgen (nasdaq: amgn), today announced the completion of the acquisition of biovex group, inc., a privately held biotechnology company based in woburn, mass., with additional operations in abingdon, uk. the acquisition includes oncovex(gm-csf), a novel investigational oncolytic vaccine in phase 3 clinical development that may represent a new approach to treating melanoma and head and neck cancer. the acquisition was initially announced on jan. 24. about biovex -- biovex is a privately held biotechnology company based in woburn, mass. the company is developing a new class of potent biologics for the treatment of cancer and prevention of infectious disease. the company’s lead product, oncovexgm-csf is a first in class oncolytic vaccine. oncovexgm-csf is currently being evaluated in a phase 3 multi-national study in metastatic melanoma and a phase 3 study in head and neck cancer is scheduled to commence in the second half of 2