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By Deena Beasley
(Reuters) -Amgen on Thursday said its first-quarter profit rose 24%, handily exceeding Wall Street expectations, as product sales increased 11% and profit margins widened.
The biotechnology company reported adjusted earnings per share of $4.90 for the quarter, sailing past the average analyst estimate of $4.30, as compiled by LSEG.
Overall revenue rose 9% to $8.1 billion, which was in line with Wall Street estimates.
"Ongoing new product launches and successful Phase 3 trial results for several products make us feel confident in our long-term growth prospects," Amgen CEO Robert Bradway said in a statement.
The company is slated to present at a medical meeting next month full results from a mid-stage trial of its experimental weight-loss drug MariTide, viewed by many investors as a potential blockbuster.
Amgen is conducting late-stage trials of the drug in patients with and without diabetes, and said results from a Phase 2 diabetes trial will be announced in the second half of this year.
The company also said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has lifted its clinical hold on an early-stage trial of a different experimental weight-loss drug known as AMG 513.
For the full year, Amgen said it still expects adjusted earnings per share of $20.00 to $21.20 on revenue of $34.3 billion to $35.7 billion. Analysts, on average, have estimated earnings of $20.63 per share on revenue of $35.1 billion.
Amgen said its 2025 outlook includes the impact of implemented tariffs, but does not account for any future levies, including potential sector-specific tariffs.
U.S. President Donald Trump's administration has opened a national security investigation into pharmaceuticals in a bid to demonstrate why the U.S. needs tariffs to boost domestic manufacturing.
Amgen's first-quarter sales of bone drug Prolia rose 10% to $1.1 billion, but the company said it expects lower sales of the medication later in the year as biosimilar competitors are launched.
Sales of cholesterol-lowering medication Repatha rose 27% to $656 million, while sales of much older arthritis drug Enbrel fell 10% to $567 million.
In the rare disease space, sales of thyroid eye disease drug Tepezza fell 10% to $381 million, and sales of gout treatment Krystexxa were flat at $236 million. Both drugs were acquired with Amgen's purchase of Horizon Therapeutics.
Net operating income for the quarter rose 20% to $1.2 billion.
(Reporting By Deena BeasleyEditing by Bill Berkrot)
