Sales of Epogen Send Amgen Profits Soaring

Amgen Inc., a biotechnology company in Thousand Oaks that is reaping the early rewards of its new drug Epogen, said its fiscal first-quarter profit soared to $11.1 million from $835,000 a year earlier.

The profit jump came on a surge in Amgen’s revenue in the quarter that ended June 30, to $71.7 million from $28.5 million a year earlier. The higher revenue reflects growing sales of Epogen, the brand name for erythropoietin (EPO), which helps fight anemia in patients with such problems as kidney disease.

Amgen gained federal regulatory approval to sell the drug a year ago, and since then it has sold the drug to about 65,000 patients on kidney dialysis, the company said.

As Amgen’s sales have continued to gain momentum, so has its stock. Amgen’s stock closed Monday at $85.50 a share in over-the-counter trading, giving it a 75% gain since Dec. 31 when it stood at $49 a share.

So far, Amgen has the fledgling EPO market to itself, but that could change. Genetics Institute, based in Cambridge, Mass., and its partner, Chugai Pharmaceutical Co. of Japan, are fighting a patent battle with Amgen in the courts in order to get their version of EPO on the U.S. market.

The case currently is before an appeals court in Washington, where oral arguments are scheduled to be heard in September. A lower court judge had effectively urged the companies to share the market.