A few days after Amgen Inc. officials were in Rhode Island to impress local dignitaries, the company released its latest earnings to impress Wall Street.
The world’s largest biotechnology company on July 22 said its profit surged 58 percent during the second quarter, on strong sales of its cancer and arthritis drugs. Net income was $653 million, or 49 cents a share.
Amgen also boosted its profit outlook for the remainder of fiscal 2003 by 5 cents a share, saying it would earn $1.85 to $1.95 a share, and total sales for the year should approach $8.5 billion.
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The Thousand Oaks, Calif.-based company hit $2 billion in quarterly revenue for the first time in its history. Sales of anemia drug Aranesp and Neulasta, a drug designed to prevent chemotherapy-related infections, both rose sharply.
Enbrel, Amgen’s blockbuster rheumatoid arthritis drug, recorded sales of $304 million, a 58 percent increase over second quarter 2002, when Enbrel was owned by Immunex Corp. Amgen acquired Immunex last year.
The company makes the vast majority of its Enbrel supply at a 205,000-square-foot manufacturing plant in West Greenwich, called “BioNow,” which received federal regulatory approval in January.
Amgen Chief Executive Kevin Sharer and other officials hosted an informational luncheon at the West Greenwich facility on July 18, which also included a tour of the new, 375,000-square-foot facility. The plant, which the company calls “BioNext,” should be completed in late 2004, the company said.
Nearly 1,000 employees work at the existing plant. Amgen said it expects Enbrel sales to range between $1.2 and $1.4 billion for fiscal 2003.
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