Amgen shares down on FDA notice

Published 9:00 pm Sunday, March 11, 2007

Amgen shares dipped slightly today after the FDA added to the warning requirements for the company’s anemia drugs.

Early in Monday’s trading, the company’s stock actually hit a 52-week low, but it recovered well enough to end the day down only 0.3 percent.

The FDA on Friday added new warnings to the labels of Amgen’s Epogen and Aranesp, which increase red blood cell count in people suffering from anemia. The condition is common with certain kidney diseases and in chemotherapy patients. The warnings make clear that using too much of the drugs can increased the risk of death, blood clots, strokes and heart attacks in patients with chronic kidney failure. It also tells doctors to use the lowest possible dose of the drugs.

Here’s the full story, http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070312/amgen_mover.html?.v=2, or here, http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/03/10/news/web.0310.anemia.php.

The drug Aranesp already has been dropped by at least one Medicare administrator for reimbursement, in part because of the safety concerns. Read about that here, http://www.forbes.com/markets/2007/03/12/amgen-medicare-update-markets-equity_cx_mk_0312markets41.html.