Much of Amgen’s modest gains in the year can be attributed to its manufacturing partnership with Eli Lilly and an increase in sales for EVENITY.
Al Seib / Los Angeles Times via Getty
Amgen has posted a 3% rise in total 2021 fourth-quarter revenues to $6.8 billion and a 2% increase in total revenue for the year to $26 billion, driven mainly through wins from “other” gains.
Product sales were up by 7% globally, but this was more than offset by a 7% drop in net selling price. In the U.S., the company saw product sales drop by 4%, with unit volumes rising 3% but offset by a 6% decline in net selling price.
Much of Amgen’s modest gains in the year can be attributed to its manufacturing partnership with Eli Lilly and Co, which started in September 2020. The two companies agreed to collaborate to supply COVID-19 antibody treatments, an arrangement later strengthened by a series of U.S. Food and Drug Administration approvals for several antibody drugs, including bamlanivimab and etesevimab.
Another main driver keeping Amgen in stable health is a 59% increase in sales for EVENITY, which saw product unit volumes grow by 57% for the fourth quarter and 46% for the entire year. The FDA approved EVENITY (romosozunab-aqqg) for postmenopausal women diagnosed with osteoporosis who are at high risk for fracture in 2019.
Amgen’s Prolia (denosumab), indicated for the same group or those who do not respond well to current osteoporosis medications, also saw an increase at 17% for Q4 and 18% for the full year. As of the end of 2021, Amgen said that sales volumes for Prolia have returned to pre-COVID levels, although this might be affected down the line as the continued Omicron surge threatens to impact 2022 revenues.
Other products that saw Q4 sales increases include the cardiovascular disease drug Repatha, up 26% year-over-year, anti-hair loss medication Otezia, up 2% and rheumatoid arthritis drug AMGEVITA, up 12%.
Total sales from its established products, which include Aranesp, Neulasta, NEUPOGEN, EPOGEN, Sensipar/Mimpara and Parsabiv dropped 27% in Q4 and 25% for the full year, mostly due to unit volume declines and lower net selling prices.
Despite the declines across product lines, Amgen remains optimistic for 2022, especially following a research collaboration deal signed with Generate Biomedicines in January 2022 to discover and create protein therapies. The company also signed a deal with Arrakis Therapeutics to discover and develop RNA degrader therapeutics in the same month. This month, Amgen announced that it is partnering with Plexium to identify protein degradation therapeutics.
The company’s leadership is set to meet Tuesday for its virtual business review to discuss growth plans and opportunities.
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