Amgen Seeks OK for United Kingdom Sales

Amgen and Swiss pharmaceutical giant F. Hoffmann-LaRoche & Co. have filed for approval in the United Kingdom to sell a new biotechnology drug that produces white blood cells that help alleviate anemia in cancer patients who are undergoing chemotherapy.

Amgen, based in Thousand Oaks, has developed a drug called G-CSF that has shown considerable promise in human clinical trials. The company has already filed an application to market the same drug in the United States, but Food and Drug Administration approval isn’t expect to be forthcoming for at least 18 months. Amgen is one of several companies that is developing biotechnology-engineered drugs that trigger production of white blood cells.