Amgen says Aranesp safe, maintains '07 forecast
By Bill Berkrot
NEW YORK, March 1 (Reuters) - Amgen Inc. (AMGN.O) management moved on Thursday to reassure investors that the majority of use of its biggest product, the anemia drug Aranesp, will continue despite mounting safety concerns surrounding the class of drugs to which it belongs.
A series of studies involving Aranesp or other medicines from the same class designed to boost levels of oxygen-carrying hemoglobin in red blood cells have raised alarms that the drugs may be harming some cancer and kidney disease patients, causing concern among investors that Aranesp sales would be hurt.
Aranesp had sales of about $4.1 billion in 2006.
Amgen again insisted that the drugs are safe and effective when used for approved conditions and at approved doses, but Chief Executive Kevin Sharer admitted to being "in a period of uncertainty here."
"The totality of what is going on now is giving us headwind in this business," Sharer told industry analysts during a conference call conducted by Goldman Sachs.
"We are doing darndest to be as open and complete as we can so investors can make judgments," added Sharer on a day when shares of the world's largest biotechnology company by sales fell to a level not seen since July of 2005 following disclosure of an informal Aranesp inquiry by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Despite the uncertainty, Amgen stood by its 2007 forecast for adjusted earnings per share of $4.30 to $4.50, excluding items, that it issued in January.
"Our financial guidance for '07 we believe is still valid," Sharer said.
Amgen shares were down $2.07, or 3.2 percent, to $62.19 on Nasdaq in afternoon trading after falling as low as $61.63 earlier in the day.
((Reporting by Bill Berkrot, editing by Tim Dobbyn; Reuters Messaging: bill.berkrot.reuters.com@reuters.net phone 646 223-6030)) Keywords: AMGEN ARANESP/
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