Yahoo Finance Amgen Uses Its Expertise to Develop Biosimilars in 3Q15
How Amgen Beat Revenue Expectations in 3Q15
Biosimilars
In 3Q15, Amgen’s (AMGN) biosimilar programs have continued to advance. The company is expected to complete global regulatory submissions for the biosimilar version of AbbVie’s (ABBV) Humira by the end of 2015. The drug is used for rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis.
Amgen also successfully completed the phase 3 trial for the biosimilar of Roche’s (RHHBY) Avastin (through Roche’s subsidiary Genentech), targeted at non-small cell lung cancer (or NSCLC). Additionally, Amgen has completed the enrollment of test subjects in Phase 3 study of the biosimilar for Roche’s Herceptin (through Genentech), a breast cancer drug, and expects the data by the second half of 2016. To know more about Amgen’s biosimilar strategy, please refer to Amgen’s Presence in the Biosimilar Market.
Biosimilar opportunity
In addition to late-stage biosimilars, Amgen is also working on a phase 1 study for the biosimilar for Johnson and Johnson’s (JNJ) Remicade (through the latter’s subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceuticals). Amgen’s biosimilars have the potential to earn more than $3 billion in annual revenues.
To capitalize on this opportunity, Amgen plans to develop biosimilars with the same high standards as the company’s originator drugs. The company is further adding next-generation manufacturing technologies in its new Singapore facility to strengthen its manufacturing leadership.
Branded commercial capabilities
Amgen has planned to leverage its branded biologic commercial capabilities in functions such as sales and marketing, pricing, patient services, and contracting to sell biosimilars. Allergan is further expected to provide the commercial support required by Amgen for oncology biosimilars.
Amgen accounts for 0.7% of the iShares Core S&P 500 ETF’s (IVV) total holdings.
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