Amgen's Sharer sees light at end of tunnel

Amgen has had a rough couple of years. The world's biggest biotech saw sales of its blockbuster anemia drugs Aranesp and Epogen [1] take a major hit last year when they garnered black box warnings for heart and vascular problems at high doses. And when Medicare--the drugs' biggest buyer--cut reimbursement rates for the drugs, Amgen suffered. The biotech cut 2,600 jobs in 2007 [2] as part of a widespread restructuring aimed at slicing out a billion dollars in expenses.

But in an interview with the Wall Street Journal, CEO Kevin Sharer (photo [3]) says the company's tough times are in the past. "...Amgen is poised to be 'among the top three in revenue growth and earnings growth' in the biopharmaceutical industry over the next five years, a period when many large drug companies will face added pressure because of patent expirations," the WSJ reports.

Key to Amgen's turn-around is the osteoporosis treatment Denosumab [4]. The drug has already been submitted for FDA review and, if approved, could bring in $2 billion to $3 billion in sales a year.

- read the Wall Street Journal article [5]

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Amgen, Schering-Plough most likely to replenish pipeline [6]
Denosumab - Next gen biotech blockbusters [7]
Amgen - Biotech Market Share Report [8]
Amgen - Big Biotech's Stock Report [9]
Amgen CEO: "I felt real economic pain" [10]
Amgen CEO Kevin Sharer - CEO pay report [3]
Troubled Amgen pays CEO $13.2M in compensation [11]