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The Onyx drugs would add to Amgen's pipeline of new drugs. In the first half of 2014 Amgen expects to announce late-stage testing data for three experimental drugs. The products are being studied as treatments for skin cancer, recurrent ovarian cancer and high LDL, or bad cholesterol, that doesn't respond to pills such as Lipitor. Onyx and Pfizer Inc. are also studying a drug called palbociclib as a treatment for breast cancer, and oprozomib, a potential multiple myeloma drug that is in early clinical testing. Several other major pharmaceutical acquisitions have been announced in the last few months. In July, generic drug maker Perrigo Co. agreed to buy Ireland's Elan Corp. PLC for $8.6 billion. That deal will allow Perrigo to move to Ireland and cut its tax obligations while adding new royalties. In May generic drug company Actavis Inc. agreed to buy Warner Chilcott PLC for $8.5 billion in stock, creating the third-biggest specialty pharmaceutical company in the U.S. market. Also in May, Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. agreed to pay $8.7 billion to buy Bausch + Lomb in a massive expansion of Valeant's ophthalmology business. In April scientific instrument maker Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. agreed to buy life science and medical research instrument maker Life Technologies Corp. for $13.6 billion.
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