Amgen profit, key drug sales fall

By Bill Berkrot

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Amgen Inc (AMGN.O) reported lower-than-expected earnings on Thursday as sales of virtually all of its key drugs fell well short of Wall Street estimates and the company lowered its 2009 revenue forecast, blaming deterioration in the global economy.

Amgen, whose shares fell 2.7 percent in after-hours trading, became the latest big drugmaker to blame the recession for disappointing earnings.

"I can't imagine a worse situation in terms of patients being able to afford their medicines," George Morrow, head of Amgen's commercial operations, said on a conference call with investors and analysts.

Sales of the rheumatoid arthritis drug Enbrel were especially troubling, plunging 20 percent to $758 million, a whopping $160 million shy of Wall Street expectations.

"In America, patients are sometimes postponing doctor visits, not always taking medicines on the prescribed schedule and in some cases, particularly Enbrel in our case, are finding the co-pay is difficult to afford," said Chief Executive Kevin Sharer. "We also know that health insurance coverage is not as broad or robust as in prior non-recessionary years."

Sales of expensive arthritis drugs, such as Enbrel and Abbott Laboratories' (ABT.N) Humira, have fallen short of forecasts as patients hurt by the recession cut back on the medicines to avoid high co-payments.

Amgen said changes in wholesaler inventory also hurt Enbrel sales.

Excluding items, Amgen earned $1.08 per share for the quarter, six cents shy of analysts' average expectations, according to Reuters Estimates.