In This Article:
This story was originally published on BioPharma Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily BioPharma Dive newsletter.
Dive Brief:
-
Amgen on Thursday said its just-launched biosimilar of Johnson & Johnson’s autoimmune drug Stelara recorded $150 million in sales in the first quarter, spotlighting rising revenue from the biotech’s portfolio of copycat biologics.
-
During the company’s first quarter earnings call, commercial chief Murdo Gordon said Amgen’s biosimilar products recorded $735 million in sales, roughly 9% of the company’s revenues. Those sales climbed 35% compared to the same period last year, showing the business “continues to contribute meaningfully to our long-term growth,” CEO Robert Bradway said.
-
Still, Amgen’s overall performance is uneven. While some products are thriving, like an Avastin lookalike that booked $179 million in sales, others, such as its Humira biosimilar are struggling. Amgen recently launched a biosimilar version of Regeneron’s eye drug Eylea and could begin marketing a copycat form of AstraZeneca’s rare disease treatment Soliris sometime before the middle of the summer.
Dive Insight:
Amgen is nearly alone among its large drugmaker peers in committing to biosimilar drugs. But its decision has helped bolster revenues at a time when its own branded products are facing pressure from lookalike biologics.
Amgen’s investment in biosimilars isn’t slowing down, either. The company has in Phase 3 trials competitors to the checkpoint inhibitors that revolutionized cancer care over the past decade. The two top sellers, Bristol Myers Squibb’s Opdivo and Merck & Co.’s Keytruda, are due to lose patent protection in 2028, though subcutaneous versions of those drugs may complicate Amgen’s plans.
Amgen’s best-selling biosimilars are even surpassing other high-profile medicines in its branded portfolio, such as the targeted cancer drug Lumakras and newer drugs like Uplizna and Tavneos. That shift is increasing scrutiny of Amgen’s pipeline of innovative drugs, most notably the obesity treatment MariTide. That drug so far has fallen short of investor expectations, but upcoming data presentations at the American Diabetes Association meeting in June could change sentiment. Amgen has multiple late-stage trials underway.
Amgen recorded overall sales of $7.9 billion in the first quarter, up 11% over the same period in 2024 and exceeding consensus analyst estimates. Shares ticked down about 2% in early trading Friday.