Amgen Adjusts Earnings Share

Amgen expects no negative affects on its earnings per share for 2007 from issues related to reimbursements of its anemia drugs, company Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Kevin Sharer told investors. Speaking Jan. 8 at the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference, Sharer said earnings per share of its Erythropoiesis Stimulating Agent products are expected in the low end of the $4.30 – $4.50 range. The company had previously forecast a guidance range of $4.13 – $4.23. In July, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced doctors would only be reimbursed for prescribing anemia drugs Aranesp and Epogen in certain ways. At the conference, Sharer also disclosed that Amgen advanced 13 new molecules into development in 2007 and that 10 molecules are planned to move into mid-stage trials in 2008.