Sale of Amgen Drug Lifts Income to $3.9 Million

Amgen, a Thousand Oaks-based biotechnology firm that makes pharmaceutical products, reported that its net income surged to $3.9 million in the fiscal second quarter that ended September 30, more than 12 times the $320,000 in net income a year earlier. Revenue doubled to $42.5 million from $21.5 million.

Gordon Blinder, Amgen’s chief executive officer, said the strong third quarter results reflected rising demand for the company’s drug for treating anemia in kidney dialysis patients. The drug, Epogen, received licensing in June and has been purchased by 95% of the dialysis centers in the country, Blinder said.

In the six months that ended in September, Amgen earned $4.7 million, more than seven times the $625,000 in net income a year earlier. Revenues totaled $72.6 million, a 77% gain from $41 million.