Amgen Begins Testing New Version of Neupogen

Amgen, the world’s biggest biotechnology company, has started a large-scale trial of an experimental extended-release version of its blockbuster cancer drug Neupogen.

Researchers gave the drug, dubbed SD-01, to the first patient earlier this month, said Elizabeth Ashforth, head of the team developing the product. The study is in the final stages leading up to experimental treatments.

SD-01 is one of four Amgen products in the late stages of development. Progress on these products over the past eight months helped dispel concerns that Amgen didn’t have a strong enough pipeline of new drugs to keep profits growing after sales slow down for its two blockbusters--Neupogen and the anemia drug Epogen, analysts say.

“The big hang-up on Amgen is: Where’s the pipeline?” said Stuart Weisbrod, a fund manager with Merlin Biomedical Asset Management, which invests in health-care stocks. The beginning of this trial is a sign Amgen is making progress in developing new drugs, said Weisbrod.

Neupogen and SD-01 both work to boost white blood cells in cancer patients receiving chemotherapy. Regular Neupogen is designed to be given daily, but patients do not get the full benefit from the drug if they can’t make it to the doctor on weekends or miss appointments for other reasons.

Thousand Oaks-based Amgen designed extended-release SD-01, which stays in the body for eight to 10 days, to resolve that problem.