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AMGEN (AMGN)

       Bear Stearns’ optimism about Amgen (AMGN) emanates from the fact that the security firm’s analysts believe that the biotech giant could win its patent infringement case against Roche’s drug CERA, which represents a tough competitor to Amgen’s Epogen. Bear Stearns believes that If the market fully digests this fact, AMGN shares could trade up sharply.

      Bear Stearn views the fact that Roche’s product CERA is identical to Epogen in both the amino acid sequence and composition of carbohydrage moiety, makes it likely that CERA infringes Amgen's manufacturing patents & composition patents. “It will be difficult for Roche to argue that CERA's backbone falls outside the scope of Amgen's patents on Epogen, while Amgen will be able to argue CERA infringe's its patents.

      We agree that Amgen’s stock is worth much more than its current price. We also agree that postponing the approval of Roche’s drug CERA represents good news for Amgen. We want to stress that Amgen has not only successfully protected its blood growth factors Epogen, Neupogen, Neulesta  and Aranesp, but has successfully managed its money as well. It has used its large income to develop more products and buy numerous firms, which added many marketed products and filled what was viewed as a meager pipeline with drugs. Amgen's   management has always worked at sustaining its revenues and income growth. 

       Besides Amgen’s growth factors Epogen, Neupogen, Neulesta and Aranesp, Amgen’s marketed products include, Enbrel (anti-TNF) and Kineret (anakinra) for arthritis and inflammatory diseases, Kepivance (palifermin) for oral mucositis, Sensipar® (cinacalcet HCl) for secondary hyperparathyroidism in patients with chronic kidney disease on dialysis, as well as the treatment of hypercalcemia in patients with parathyroid carcinoma, Vectibix™ (panitumumab), which was approved by the FDA in September 2006 for the treatment of patients with EGFr-expressing metastatic colorectal cancer who have disease progression and are on, or have already been treated with  fluoropyrimidine, oxaliplatin, and irinotecan- containing regimens.

The pipeline contains investigational products in over twenty seven phases of cliunical trials.

Borttom line, we are not concerned about Amgen’s future growth, even if one day other firms launch competing products.

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