Amgen Q2 - Record sales for nine brands

Amgen reported good earnings thanks to strong sales of its treatments for cholesterol, osteoporosis, and other drugs. This biotech pharma company is a Vestact-recommended stock. Revenue for the quarter reached $6.99 billion, up 6%, and earnings per share rose to $5, surpassing analysts' expectations.

Amgen racked up record sales for nine of its products during the quarter. Revenues from the anti-inflammatory medicine Otezla, cholesterol drug Repatha and osteoporosis drug Prolia were all well above forecasts.

On the downside, sales of Amjevita, Amgen's biosimilar version of AbbVie's arthritis drug Humira, fell short of Wall Street expectations, mainly due to inventory drawdowns in the US.

Drug companies have to keep bringing new products to market, because they only have 20 years of patent exclusivity. Amgen reported promising results from a mid-stage trial of the experimental drug tarlatamab in patients with advanced lung cancer.

The company raised its full-year outlook for adjusted earnings and revenue for 2023. Their acquisition of Horizon Therapeutics faces delays due to an FTC lawsuit. It's hard to see how the merger will be anti-competitive, Amgen expects the deal to close by mid-December and is prepared to make its case in court.

Amgen shares have been bumbling around the $250 per share mark for a few years, and are down 3% year-to-date, making it one of the few companies of ours that have lagged the index. The last few weeks have been solid, the company is up 12.6% during the month. Keep hope, Amgen will join the winners circle soon enough.