Talk about the power of products. The epoetin alfa (Epogen and Aranesp) and G-CSF/filgrastim (Neupogen and Neulasta) franchises still generate more than 75% of Amgen Inc. 's $12 billion or so annual sales almost two decades since their original introductions. There's little in Amgen's pipeline, it seems, to replace these, at least in the near-term. And Amgen is as threatened as any biologics maker by the possibility of biosimilars—both branded, like Roche 's Epogen-like NeoRecormon and Aranesp-competitor CERA, and truer biogenerics, not to mention other improved versions or even small-molecule alternatives from companies like FibroGen Inc. 's FG-2216. (See "Biosimilars: The Time Has Come," in this issue, Also see "Biosimilars: The Time Has Come" - In Vivo, 1 January, 2006. and "Biogenerics Are Happening: Slowly, Product-by-Product," The RPM Report, January 2006 Also see "Biogenerics Are Happening: Slowly, Product-By-Product" - Pink Sheet, 1 January, 2006..)
So Amgen has been using its cash—regularly replenished thanks to 42% operating margins—to buy pipeline and thus near-term earnings. That was the reason it paid $18 billion for Immunex Corp....
