Epogen, Neupogen Sales Push Amgen’s Profit Up

Amgen Inc. reported that its first-quarter profit rose 26% on increased sales of its two biggest drugs, Epogen and Neupogen.

The Thousand Oaks-based company said net income rose to $180.3 million, or 65 cents a share, from $143.6 million or 51 cents in the year-earlier period. Revenue rose 13% to $575.5 million from $507.9 million in the year-earlier period.

The biotechnology company also said it filed for Food and Drug Administration approval for Stemgen, a drug that promotes platelet growth in chemotherapy patients.

Amgen said sales of Epogen, used to spur red blood cell growth in kidney patients, rose 19% to $292 million. Sales of Neupogen, used to stimulate white blood cell growth, rose 5% to $244 million.

A February study published in the New England Journal of Medicine showed that Stemgen restored the supply of blood coagulants, called platelets, in cancer patients after chemotherapy.

Amgen’s drug is a man-made version of a human growth factor called megakaryocyte growth and development factor. Amgen scientists isolated and cloned the factor.