Amgen vs Mastercard: Founders, CEOs and History

Company facts

Founders

CEOs and their tenures

Timeline: Amgen and Mastercard side by side

1. 1966Mastercard

   Interbank Card Association Takes Shape

   A group of U.S. Banks formed the Interbank Card Association to make card acceptance work across institutions rather than inside isolated bank programs.

2. 1968Mastercard

   Master Charge Brand Adopted

   The association adopted the Master Charge name and interlocking-circle design to give member banks a stronger shared identity. A common brand made the network easier for merchants and consumers to recognize as acceptance expanded beyond local bank programs.

3. 1979Mastercard

   Master Charge Becomes MasterCard

   The network changed its name from Master Charge to MasterCard as it became more international. The rebrand simplified recognition and helped the company present itself as a global acceptance network rather than a domestic bank-card association.

4. 1980Amgen

   Applied Molecular Genetics is incorporated

   Applied Molecular Genetics (AMGen) was incorporated on April 8, 1980 in Thousand Oaks, California, as the idea of venture capitalist William K. Bowes Jr. and a group of scientific collaborators.

5. 1983Amgen

   Nasdaq listing and the erythropoietin clone

   Amgen completed its initial public offering on June 17, 1983, raising nearly US$40 million under chief financial officer Gordon Binder, and formally shortened its name to Amgen.

6. 1984Amgen

   Kirin-Amgen joint venture formed

   Amgen and Kirin Brewery Company of Japan formed Kirin-Amgen in 1984 as a joint venture for the worldwide commercialization of erythropoietin.

7. 1985Amgen

   G-CSF cloned, leading to Neupogen

   While Fu-Kuen Lin's team worked on erythropoietin, researcher Larry Souza and his group cloned and expressed human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor in 1985.

8. 1989Amgen

   FDA approves Epogen

   The FDA approved Epogen (epoetin alfa) on June 1, 1989 for anemia in patients with chronic kidney failure on dialysis. It was the first commercial recombinant human erythropoietin. Epogen's U.S.

9. 1991Amgen

   Neupogen approved, giving Amgen a second franchise

   The FDA approved Neupogen (filgrastim) in February 1991. By stimulating white blood cell production it reduced the risk of infection in cancer patients with chemotherapy-induced neutropenia.

10. 1991Amgen

    Amgen wins the erythropoietin patent fight

    On March 6, 1991 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld the Kirin-Amgen erythropoietin patent and ruled against Genetics Institute in Amgen v. Chugai Pharmaceutical and Genetics Institute.

11. 2001Amgen

    FDA approves Aranesp, the longer-acting EPO

    Aranesp (darbepoetin alfa), an erythropoietin analogue with modified glycosylation and a longer half-life, was approved in 2001. Less frequent dosing than Epogen improved convenience and gave Amgen a newer, higher-priced product to migrate patients toward.

12. 2002Amgen

    US$16 billion Immunex acquisition brings Enbrel in-house

    Amgen completed its acquisition of Immunex Corporation on July 16, 2002, the largest biotechnology deal to that point at about US$16 billion in stock and cash.

13. 2002Mastercard

    Europay Merger and Corporate Conversion

    MasterCard merged with Europay International and converted from a membership association into a private share corporation. That structure prepared the company for public-market ownership and a more independent investment agenda.

14. 2006Mastercard

    Initial Public Offering on the NYSE

    MasterCard priced its initial public offering at $39 per share and listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol MA.

15. 2010Amgen

    Prolia and XGEVA create the bone health franchise

    The FDA approved Prolia (denosumab) for postmenopausal osteoporosis in June 2010 and XGEVA, the same molecule at a higher dose, for prevention of skeletal-related events in cancer patients in November 2010.

16. 2017Mastercard

    Vocalink Expands Real-Time Payments

    Mastercard completed its Vocalink acquisition after announcing a deal for 92.4 percent of the U.K. Payments infrastructure company for about $920 million.

17. 2019Amgen

    US$13.4 billion purchase of Otezla from Celgene

    Amgen agreed in August 2019 to buy worldwide rights to Otezla (apremilast) from Celgene for US$13.4 billion in cash, or about US$11.2 billion net of the present value of US$2.2 billion of anticipated future cash tax benefits, and closed on November 21, 2019.

18. 2020Amgen

    Amgen joins the Dow Jones Industrial Average

    Amgen replaced Pfizer in the Dow Jones Industrial Average on August 31, 2020, becoming one of the thirty components in the index. Inclusion recognized the scale Amgen had reached and added passive demand from Dow-tracking funds.

19. 2020Mastercard

    Finicity Strengthens Open Banking

    Mastercard completed the acquisition of Finicity, a North American financial data and open banking platform. The deal added consumer-permissioned data connectivity for lending, account verification, personal finance, and account-based payment use cases.

20. 2021Mastercard

    Michael Miebach Becomes CEO

    Michael Miebach became chief executive officer on January 1, 2021 after serving as chief product officer and president.

21. 2021Mastercard

    Nets Account-to-Account Business Closes

    Mastercard completed the acquisition of the majority of Nets' Corporate Services business, adding clearing and settlement instant payment infrastructure, bill payment, and e-invoicing capabilities.

22. 2023Amgen

    US$27.8 billion Horizon Therapeutics acquisition closes

    Amgen completed the acquisition of Horizon Therapeutics plc on October 6, 2023 for US$116.50 per share in cash, an equity value of about US$27.8 billion, after settling FTC litigation with a behavioral consent decree.

23. 2024Amgen

    Imdelltra becomes the first T-cell engager for small cell lung cancer

    The FDA granted accelerated approval to tarlatamab, sold as Imdelltra, on May 16, 2024 for extensive stage small cell lung cancer that has progressed on or after platinum-based chemotherapy.

24. 2024Mastercard

    Recorded Future Adds Threat Intelligence

    Mastercard completed the acquisition of Recorded Future, adding AI-enabled threat intelligence to its cybersecurity, identity, and real-time fraud scoring services.

25. 2025Amgen

    VESALIUS-CV extends the Repatha case to primary prevention

    In November 2025 Amgen reported Phase 3 VESALIUS-CV results in more than 12,000 patients with atherosclerosis or diabetes but no prior heart attack or stroke.

26. 2025Mastercard

    $32.8B FY2025 Net Revenue

    Mastercard reported $32.791 billion in FY2025 net revenue and $14.968 billion in net income.

27. 2026Amgen

    Medicare price setting reaches Enbrel and Otezla

    Enbrel's negotiated Medicare price under the Inflation Reduction Act took effect on January 1, 2026, after it was named in the first round of ten drugs selected for negotiation.

28. 2026Mastercard

    BVNK Adds Stablecoin Infrastructure

    Mastercard closed its acquisition of stablecoin infrastructure firm BVNK on August 3, 2026, for up to $1.8 billion including contingent payments. The deal extends the company's network to on-chain payments alongside cards and bank transfers.

Acquisitions

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