Kevin Sharer

Amgen touts pipeline at investor meeting

Maureen Martino — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 09:22:19 -0500

Amgen's top management touted the company's strategy and pipeline at a meeting of Amgen securities analysts and investors in New York City. "Over the next five years we could have three more drugs achieve blockbuster status: Sensipar, denosumab for osteoporosis and denosumab for cancer-related indications," said Amgen CEO Kevin Sharer (photo). The much-anticipated denosumab for osteoporosis--which could bring in anywhere from $2 billion to $10 billion a year--has been submitted to the FDA. Final approval of that drug is expected late this year or early 2009.

Amgen also said it is anticipating 17 key Phase II and III clinical study results in 2009 and 2010, including for denosumab (oncology), AMG 386 and AMG 655 for various cancer indications, and its Sensipar/Mimpara trial, an outcomes study in dialysis patients. Execs noted the company's pipeline swelled to 50 molecules in 2008 from just 20 in 2001.

It wasn't all good news, however. George Morrow, Amgen's executive vice president for Global Commercial Operations, predicted a further 10 to 20 percent decline in Aranesp sales before they stabilize. Neulasta/Neopogen will also be facing generic competition in Europe.

- see Amgen's release for more
- here's the Seeking Alpha article

ALSO: Amgen is already preparing for the launch of denosumab, even though the med hasn't made its way through the FDA yet. Report

Amgen's Sharer sees light at end of tunnel

Maureen Martino — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 10:04:42 -0500

Amgen has had a rough couple of years. The world's biggest biotech saw sales of its blockbuster anemia drugs Aranesp and Epogen 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 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) 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. 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

Amgen CEO: "I felt real economic pain"

Thu, 08 May 2008 06:59:58 -0400

What do you do when your biggest therapeutic earners are swooning, your stock price is down and analysts have turned scornful? Look for that silver lining. That was Amgen CEO Kevin Sharer's approach yesterday when he was confronted by an angry horde of shareholders at the company's annual meeting. While conceding that last year was 'awful,' the chief executive of one of the biggest biotechs in the world said Amgen was off to a good start in '08. And those troubles the company is facing aren't really all that different from the woes faced by other big drug companies.

It was a tough sell. Even with his income down by 29 percent compared to 2006, steamed shareholders questioned Sharer's $13.2 million in compensation ($19 million according to SEC filings), his driver and car and use of the company plane.

Hey, responded Sharer, his shares are down too. "I felt real economic pain," he told the group. With Amgen shares down 30 percent from the 52-week high and Aranesp sales off by 20 percent, there was plenty of pain to go around the room.

- check out the article from the Los Angeles Times

Amgen CEO Kevin Sharer - CEO pay report

Maureen Martino — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 14:47:30 -0400

Kevin Sharer - Amgen

Total Compensation: $19.9 million

Details: Despite weathering its toughest year to date, Amgen CEO Kevin Sharer came out on top in this year's CEO pay ranking. However, Sharer's pay was down 17 percent from 2006. His base salary was up slightly to $1.55 million but he took a hit on stock awards and incentive plan compensation. This was no surprise considering the beating Amgen stock took after safety problems were reported on the company's best-selling anemia drugs Aranesp and Epogen. In addition to traditional compensation, Sharer spent $247,743 on personal use of Amgen's aircraft, almost $25,000 on personal use of a car and driver, and $15,000 on financial planning services. His direct compensation totaled $13.2 million--less than Genentech's Arthur Levinson.

Amgen News:
Amgen CEO touts blockbuster potential of D-mab
Amgen discusses the future with analysts
Amgen in crisis? Not us, says CEO Sharer

Image: Amgen CEO Kevin Sharer

Maureen Martino — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 10:09:05 -0400

Troubled Amgen pays CEO $13.2M in compensation

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 07:59:56 -0400

With its shares plunging and regulators threatening its blockbuster anemia franchise, Amgen CEO Kevin Sharer (photo) nevertheless garnered $13.2 million in compensation last year, according to the AP. Sharer's fortunes waned by a hefty 29 percent, dropping from $18.6 million taken in the halcyon days of 2006. Sharer took home $1.5 million in pay last year (up), $1.5 million in bonuses (down) and stock and options valued at $9.3 million when they were offered (also down). The perks of the job may have softened the blow, though. Sharer's use of a company plane, Amgen car and driver and tax and financial planning services were worth a collective $900,000. Amgen shareholders did a little worse than the CEO. Company shares plunged 35 percent last year.

- read the AFX story

Related Articles:
Amgen--Big Biotech's Stock Report. Report
Amgen CEO touts blockbuster potential of D-mab. Report
Amgen discusses the future with analysts. Report
Amgen in crisis? Not us, says CEO Sharer. Report

Amgen CEO touts blockbuster potential of D-mab

Thu, 14 Feb 2008 06:59:54 -0500

Amgen CEO Kevin Sharer dropped by The Wall Street Journal to tout the company's chances in developing denosumab (D-mab) into a badly needed blockbuster. The discovery program began in an Amgen lab when researchers observed that one of the knockout mice it had developed during gene disabling research work had grown huge. "We noticed, hey that's a really big mouse," Sharer told the Journal. "It's really got big bones."

It's also got really big market potential. Amgen believes that D-mab, which blocks the protein expressed by the gene knocked out in the mice, is worth at least a billion dollars a year, which would make up for some of the market it has lost in anemia drugs. Sharer also said that the drug would be priced closer to $1,000 a year--a fraction of the $10,000 a year tab that many biologics run.

- read the report in the Wall Street Journal

Related Articles:
Amgen's D-mab meets trial goal. Report
Denosumab: Amgen's salvation? Report
Amgen touts progress in two key programs. Report
Amgen discusses the future with analysts. Report

Amgen discusses the future with analysts

Tue, 11 Sep 2007 06:59:58 -0400

Sure, we've got trouble, says Amgen CEO Kevin Sharer. But we can handle it. That's the bottom line from a Monday chat with investors, many of whom are more than a little worried by today's FDA panel meeting on anemia drugs. Amgen is out to counter a Medicare decision to curb the use of Aranesp and other anemia drugs. And the company, which has recently announced a major restructuring, can "hack it," he says reassuringly. Still, the biotech giant notes that it is besieged by some critical problems.

"We're a company that obviously has more than our share of challenges right now," Sharer told analysts. "We have a new reality in the business and it's not a completely predictable dynamic."

- see Amgen's release on the FDA anemia drug meeting
- check out the AP report for more on Amgen's discussion with analysts

ALSO: Throw a bunch of pharma execs into a room with financial analysts, and what do you get? Almost unmitigated hope. Report

Related Articles:
Amgen ups lobbying efforts. Report
New Medicare cap on anemia drugs could hammer Amgen. Report
Amgen makes big workforce, budget cuts. Report
Amgen in crisis? Not us, says CEO Sharer. Report
Amgen stock slips as anemia drug concerns rise. Report

Amgen in crisis? Not us, says CEO Sharer

Mon, 16 Apr 2007 20:01:38 -0400

Amgen CEO Kevin Sharer tells The New York Times that in a crisis "people's hair is on fire. Confidence is challenged. We're not there." But at the article makes painfully clear, even though their hair isn't on fire, Amgen is beginning to look like one of those stumbling pharma giants who can't get anything right. New data on its blockbusters Aranesp and Epogen suggests they may be harmful to patients' health while new data on Vectibix also points to safety problems and will limit its market. The analysts have been quick to note that the biotech company's revenue is likely to grow only incrementally. And some are raising doubts about the abilities of the Amgen executive team, which for years was lionized for a series of dramatic successes. Their hair may not be on fire yet, but it's definitely getting badly mussed.

- read the article in The New York Times

ALSO: One in four patients taking Aranesp died in a recent cancer study, a rate that's about five points higher than the mortality rate for patients taking a placebo. Release

Related Articles:
Amgen CFO walks as challenges mount. Report
Amgen stock slips as anemia drug concerns rise. Report
Amgen shutters Vectibix trial on safety questions. Report
New study points to danger of anemia drug. Report
Major challenges loom for Amgen. Report