Amgen Vows to Fight Shareholder Lawsuits

Amgen Inc. says it will “vigorously defend” itself against several lawsuits that have been filed against the biotechnology giant by unhappy stockholders.

The suits followed a sharp drop in Amgen’s stock price last week after the Thousand Oaks-based company said its first-quarter profit would be 10% to 15% below Wall Street analysts’ expectations.

The complaints allege that Amgen failed to fully disclose information concerning sales of Neupogen, one of the two drugs Amgen currently sells, and so violated securities laws. The suits seek unspecified damages.

“We are confident that Amgen has complied with applicable laws,” Thomas E. Workman Jr., Amgen’s general counsel, said in a statement.

Amgen’s stock, which plunged to as low as $31 a share from $46.25 after the revised profit disclosure, closed Monday at $37.63, up $1.38 for the day, on the NASDAQ market.