Amgen has entered into a definitive merger agreement to acquire Avidia, Inc. for $290 million in cash. The transaction provides Amgen with Avidia’s lead product candidate, an inhibitor of interleukin 6 (IL-6) for the treatment of inflammation and autoimmune diseases, which is in Phase I trials. Avidia is a biopharmaceutical company that discovers and develops a new class of human therapeutic known as Avimer proteins. Under terms of the agreement, Amgen will also pay as much as $90 mil...