Amgen profit, key drug sales fall

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Amgen Inc (AMGN.O) reported lower-than-expected earnings on Thursday as sales of virtually all of its key drugs fell well short of Wall Street estimates and the company lowered its 2009 revenue forecast, blaming deterioration in the global economy.

Amgen, whose shares fell 2.7 percent in after-hours trading, became the latest big drugmaker to blame the recession for disappointing earnings.

"I can't imagine a worse situation in terms of patients being able to afford their medicines," George Morrow, head of Amgen's commercial operations, said on a conference call with investors and analysts.

Sales of the rheumatoid arthritis drug Enbrel were especially troubling, plunging 20 percent to $758 million, a whopping $160 million shy of Wall Street expectations.

"In America, patients are sometimes postponing doctor visits, not always taking medicines on the prescribed schedule and in some cases, particularly Enbrel in our case, are finding the co-pay is difficult to afford," said Chief Executive Kevin Sharer. "We also know that health insurance coverage is not as broad or robust as in prior non-recessionary years."

Sales of expensive arthritis drugs, such as Enbrel and Abbott Laboratories' (ABT.N) Humira, have fallen short of forecasts as patients hurt by the recession cut back on the medicines to avoid high co-payments.

Amgen said changes in wholesaler inventory also hurt Enbrel sales.

Excluding items, Amgen earned $1.08 per share for the quarter, six cents shy of analysts' average expectations, according to Reuters Estimates.

"It's a huge miss," said Jefferies & Co analyst Eun Yang, who attributed the poor quarter to weak Enbrel sales, as well as disappointment with the anemia drugs, Epogen and Aranesp.

The world's largest biotechnology company posted a net profit of $1.02 billion, or 98 cents per share, compared with a profit of $1.12 billion, or $1.08 per share, a year ago.

Sales of Amgen's once top-selling Aranesp continued their erosion in the face of safety concerns, falling 18 percent to $626 million and missing Wall Streets diminished expectations by $51 million.

Sales of Epogen, an older version of Aranesp used primarily in kidney dialysis patients, rose 2 percent to $565 million, but that was still well short of the $607 million analysts' were expecting.

Combined worldwide sales of the white blood cell boosters Neulasta and Neupogen fell 1 percent to $1.07 billion, shy of Wall Street estimates of $1.17 billion.

"I think almost every Amgen investor had expected this to be a pretty poor quarter, especially in terms of revenue," said Cowen and Co analyst Eric Schmidt. "The core business is disappointing, no doubt."

Schmidt said investors will be focused on denosumab, Amgen's highly anticipated experimental osteoporosis drug that is also being tested for cancer. He is expecting some positive clinical trial results on the drug in the third quarter.

Amgen's Sharer said the company was making progress in its plans for commercialization of denosumab for postmenopausal osteoporosis, including talks with potential marketing partners.

"All aspects of preparing for a denosumab launch in osteoporosis in both the United States and Europe are proceeding as expected," he said.

The company now expects total revenue for the quarter of $14.4 billion to $14.8 billion, down from its prior view of $14.8 billion to $15.2 billion.

It still expects full-year earnings of $4.55 to $4.75 per share, excluding items.

Total revenue for the quarter fell 8 percent to $3.31 billion. Amgen said unfavorable foreign exchange rates accounted for 1 percent of the decline.

Amgen shares fell to $45.57 in extended trading from their Nasdaq close at $46.82.

(Reporting by Bill Berkrot, additional reporting by Deena Beasley in Los Angeles; Editing by Andre Grenon)