HEALTH

Amgen Seeks to End Licensing Agreement: The Thousand Oaks-based biotechnology company has asked an arbitration judge in Chicago to end a drug licensing deal it has with Johnson & Johnson over the best-selling drug known as Epogen, which produces red blood cells and is used to treat kidney disease patients. Amgen Inc. is the sole U.S. manufacturer of the drug and sells it under its Epogen brand name. Amgen’s Epogen sales in the United States were $415 million in the first six months of this year. Under a decade-old agreement, Johnson & Johnson, based in New Brunswick, N.J., is also able to sell Amgen’s drug for certain medical treatments under its own brand name in the United States.