Amgen Off 4% Friday

The Thousand Oaks drug maker Amgen Inc. finished Friday down more than 4 percent and hit a year-low after a week of rough news. The biotech firm Friday announced it was canceling its clinical trials on Vectibix after tests showed using the drug with another medical might exacerbates the health of some cancer patients. Vectibix is the first direct cancer drug developed my Amgen. The study looked at the drug in combination with chemotherapy and Avastin, a drug developed by Genetech. The company has also been dealing with safety concerns about its popular anemia drug, Aranesp. Earlier this week, a congressional committee leader asked the company to stop advertising its effectiveness.