Medicare Payment for Amgen Drug to Rise
From Reuters
Amgen Inc. said Medicare would pay more for the company’s anemia drug Aranesp starting next year.
Reimbursement in the hospital outpatient setting for Aranesp will rise 37% in 2004, narrowing the gap between it and rival Johnson & Johnson’s older drug Procrit, a spokesman for Amgen said. Aranesp is a longer-lasting version of Amgen’s blockbuster anemia drug Epogen.
Amgen’s shares rose 65 cents to $61.76 on Nasdaq.
