Amgen

Drug company Amgen Inc. will pay the Maryland Medicaid system $856,474 to settle allegations that it illegally marketed and priced drugs used to treat anemia, rheumatoid arthritis and other diseases. The settlement, announced Friday by Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler, is part of a $612 million deal Illinois-based Amgen made with the federal government and several other states. As part of the settlement, Amgen's future marketing practices will also be monitored by the federal government.

Drug company Amgen Inc. will pay the Maryland Medicaid system $856,474 to settle allegations that it illegally marketed and priced drugs used to treat anemia, rheumatoid arthritis and other diseases. The settlement, announced Friday by Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler, is part of a $612 million deal Illinois-based Amgen made with the federal government and several other states. As part of the settlement, Amgen's future marketing practices will also be monitored by the federal government.

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. -- For the moment, Amgen Inc. has a jump on its competition in the race to market a promising new blood hormone. And although it's way too early to salute a medical breakthrough, analysts are saying nice things for a change."

We have owned shares of Amgen Inc. for some time, but we're disappointed in the stock performance and are considering selling. What is your opinion of the company? - J.E., via the Internet An advisory committee of the Food and Drug Administration recently seems to have improved the financial prognosis for the world's largest biotechnology company. The panel voted against a proposal that would have resulted in a decrease in the recommended dosage of anemia drugs given to many patients.

Gaithersburg-based Igen International Inc. said yesterday that Amgen Inc. has agreed to purchase the company's screening system, which can detect drug activity against a wide range of diseases at the same time.Biotechnology giant Amgen, based in Thousand Oaks, Calif., is the third major client for the system.In March, drug giant Pfizer Inc. was the first company to sign on for Igen's Origen screening system, followed by Agouron, a La Jolla, Calif.-based biotechnology company.Analysts say the interest from major biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies is not unexpected because Igen's palm-size diagnostic system allows screening in small laboratory settings rather than in large, centralized laboratories.

WASHINGTON - Amgen Inc., the world's biggest biotechnology company, urged the Food and Drug Administration yesterday to require proof of effectiveness before approving generic versions of protein-based medicines. Drugmakers including Amgen and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd, the world's biggest maker of generics, presented arguments during a two-day meeting the agency called as it seeks to develop approval standards for generic biologic, or biotechnology, medicines. The treatments are based on proteins and are produced differently than are traditional medicines.

Biotechnology giant Amgen Inc. said yesterday that it has begun human testing of an experimental nerve regeneration drug to treat Parkinson's disease.The drug was licensed in August 1997 from Guilford Pharmaceuticals Inc. of Baltimore, which in turn had licensed it from the Johns Hopkins University.The amount Guilford receives will depend on how many neuro-degenerative conditions can be successfully treated with the drugs, which are based on compounds known as neuroimmunophilins.Amgen is interested in using the compounds to treat 10 medical conditions, ranging from traumatic brain and spinal injuries to multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases.

We have owned shares of Amgen Inc. for some time, but we're disappointed in the stock performance and are considering selling. What is your opinion of the company? - J.E., via the Internet An advisory committee of the Food and Drug Administration recently seems to have improved the financial prognosis for the world's largest biotechnology company. The panel voted against a proposal that would have resulted in a decrease in the recommended dosage of anemia drugs given to many patients.

Guilford Pharmaceuticals Inc., one of the region's most promising biotechnology companies, reported a profit of $6.3 million for the third quarter ended Sept. 30, compared with a profit of $13.2 million for the corresponding quarter in 1996.Revenue for the third quarter was $16.6 million, compared with revenue of $20 million in the year-earlier period, the Baltimore-based and publicly held company said.Guilford said this year's third-quarter profit was largely attributable to a one-time $15 million payment from Amgen Inc.In August, the California-based biotechnology company licensed the rights to co-develop and market Guilford's group of drug compounds which have shown promise in treating Parkinson's disease and other neuro-degenerative diseases.

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. -- In this town, Amgen Inc. rules. It's the biggest private employer here. Its 8,300 local employees, known as "Amgenites," make an estimated average annual salary of $162,000. Its sleek corporate headquarters with sweeping views of the Santa Monica Mountains looks more like a college campus, and frequent late afternoon "fermentation parties" offer free beer for all. In this city of nearly 127,000, the biotech giant and its well-heeled work force have kept the area's economy humming.

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. -- In this town, Amgen Inc. rules. It's the biggest private employer here. Its 8,300 local employees, known as "Amgenites," make an estimated average annual salary of $162,000. Its sleek corporate headquarters with sweeping views of the Santa Monica Mountains looks more like a college campus, and frequent late afternoon "fermentation parties" offer free beer for all. In this city of nearly 127,000, the biotech giant and its well-heeled work force have kept the area's economy humming.

Until recently, Amgen Inc. was still considered one of the biggest success stories of the fast-growing biotechnology industry. Now, some analysts are comparing it to a lumbering, stumbling pharmaceutical giant that leans too heavily on an aging product portfolio. A series of setbacks, some unexpected and some perhaps self-inflicted, pose the greatest challenge in the company's previously charmed 27-year history. And some crucial events in coming weeks could make clearer whether the company has simply hit a stretch of "choppy water" - as its chief executive contends - or, as some analysts say, the company's best days may be behind it. "The barrage of bad news that's come out on Amgen in the past 60 days is absolutely unprecedented in the biotech sector," said Mark Schoenebaum, a biotechnology stock analyst at Bear Stearns.

WASHINGTON - Amgen Inc., the world's biggest biotechnology company, urged the Food and Drug Administration yesterday to require proof of effectiveness before approving generic versions of protein-based medicines. Drugmakers including Amgen and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd, the world's biggest maker of generics, presented arguments during a two-day meeting the agency called as it seeks to develop approval standards for generic biologic, or biotechnology, medicines. The treatments are based on proteins and are produced differently than are traditional medicines.

The National Institutes of Health will sponsor human tests of an experimental Guilford Pharmaceuticals Inc. drug that was rejected last year by Amgen Inc. after it proved ineffective at reversing Parkinson's disease symptoms, the Baltimore-based company said yesterday. The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, a division of the NIH known as NINDS, will oversee testing of GPI 1485 in a pilot study to determine if it's promising enough to move into a final-stage clinical trial.

Craig R. Smith, Guilford Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s chairman and chief executive, pulled no punches yesterday as he reviewed the past 12 months, calling the year "easily the most challenging in the company's nine-year history." Smith stood at a podium in the lunchroom of the Baltimore drug developer's gleaming research and development facility, flanked by fellow directors, and unflinchingly relaying a drumbeat of negatives to about 30 employees and investors at the company's annual shareholders meeting.

Human Genome Sciences Inc. said yesterday that it had stopped developing one drug designed to protect against infections in chemotherapy patients but said it would speed development of another for the same purpose. It was unclear, however, how soon the Rockville company would have rights to widely market the replacement drug, a longer-acting version of Amgen Inc.'s patented Neupogen. Separately, the company reported that its first-quarter loss nearly tripled to $38.3 million, or 30 cents a share, and said it was continuing a cost-cutting push.

Amgen Inc., put off by disappointing test results for a Parkinson's disease drug licensed from Guilford Pharmaceuticals Inc., has returned the rights to that drug and an entire family of similar ones to Guilford. Baltimore-based Guilford said yesterday that it would push forward with development of at least some of the nerve-regeneration drugs, but it will have to do so without the millions of dollars in backing the Amgen deal provided. Amgen, based in Thousand Oaks, Calif., had licensed the drugs from Guilford for 10 diseases and injuries, including Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis and traumatic head injuries.

The National Institutes of Health will sponsor human tests of an experimental Guilford Pharmaceuticals Inc. drug that was rejected last year by Amgen Inc. after it proved ineffective at reversing Parkinson's disease symptoms, the Baltimore-based company said yesterday. The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, a division of the NIH known as NINDS, will oversee testing of GPI 1485 in a pilot study to determine if it's promising enough to move into a final-stage clinical trial.

Guilford Pharmaceuticals Inc. reported yesterday that its fourth-quarter loss widened by more than 19 percent as costs related to its drug-marketing efforts grew. The Baltimore company also said it wants to gain the rights to additional products to sell to hospitals along with Gliadel, its treatment for brain cancer. Guilford said it lost $13.8 million, or 46 cents a share, on revenue of $6.8 million in the quarter that ended Dec. 31. That compares with a loss of $11.6 million, or 49 cents a share, on revenue of $5.2 million in last year's fourth quarter.

Amgen Inc., put off by disappointing test results for a Parkinson's disease drug licensed from Guilford Pharmaceuticals Inc., has returned the rights to that drug and an entire family of similar ones to Guilford. Baltimore-based Guilford said yesterday that it would push forward with development of at least some of the nerve-regeneration drugs, but it will have to do so without the millions of dollars in backing the Amgen deal provided. Amgen, based in Thousand Oaks, Calif., had licensed the drugs from Guilford for 10 diseases and injuries, including Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis and traumatic head injuries.