GROWTH INDUSTRY: Amgen Inc.’s stock and profits...

GROWTH INDUSTRY: Amgen Inc.’s stock and profits have fallen (Valley Business, Page 4), but the pharmaceutical maker has been good medicine for the Conejo Valley economy. Since 1989, Amgen’s work force in Thousand Oaks has grown from 556 to 1,908, making it the city’s second-largest employer. “We expect to grow roughly at that clip for the next couple of years,” spokeswoman Kimberly Dorsey said. Amgen has gotten along well with city officials. In fact, rather than fight City Hall, the company recently paid $12 million to buy it. Seems it needed the old interim city hall building for a training center.