Amgen scraps experimental weight loss pill, moves forward with injection

Amgen
on
Thursday
said
it
will
stop
developing
its
experimental
weight
loss
pill
and
instead
move
forward
with
its
injectable
drug
and
other
products
in
development
for
obesity.

Amgen
is
among
several
drugmakers
racing
to
join
the
red-hot
weight
loss
drug
space
dominated
by


Novo
Nordisk
and


Eli
Lilly,
which
some
analysts
say
could
be
worth
$100
billion
by
the
end
of
the
decade.
But
the
company
has
other
opportunities
to
capture
a
slice
of
the
market.

“Given
the
profile
we’ve
seen
with
[the
oral
drug],
we
will
not
pursue
further
development.
Instead,
in
obesity,
we’re
differentially
investing
in
MariTide
and
a
number
of
preclinical
assets,”
Jay
Bradner,
Amgen’s
chief
scientific
officer,
said
during
an
earnings
call
Thursday.

Amgen
is
developing
an
injectable
obesity
treatment
called
MariTide,
which
is
in
an
ongoing
midstage
trial
in
obese
or
overweight
adults
without
diabetes.
The
company
will
release
initial
data
from
that
study
later
this
year,
and
Bradner
said
Amgen
is “very
pleased”
with
the
results
so
far.

The
company
said
it
is
working
with
regulators
to
plan
a
late-stage
trial
for
the
treatment.
Amgen
said
Thursday
it
is
planning
a
stage
two
trial
on
the
drug
in
diabetes
treatment
as
well.

Amgen
shares
rose
more
than
10%
in
extended
trading
Thursday
following
the
commentary
on
MariTide.

Amgen
also
has
other
drugs
in
development
for
weight
management. 

The
drugmaker’s
oral
drug,
called
AMG-786,
is
the
second
weight
loss
pill
to
be
discontinued
over
the
past
year.

Pfizer
in
December
scrapped
a
twice-daily
version
of
its
obesity
pill,
danuglipron,
after
patients
had
a
difficult
time
tolerating
the
drug
in
a
midstage
trial.
The
company
is
now
developing
a
once-daily
version
of
that
drug.

Investors
are
laser-focused
on
Amgen’s
pipeline
of
experimental
weight
loss
treatments.
Amgen
hopes
to
stand
out
among
the
crowded
field
of
potential
players
with
a
different
approach. 

The
company’s
experimental
injection
helps
people
lose
weight
differently
from
the
existing
injectable
drugs.
Much
similar
to
Novo
Nordisk’s
Wegovy
and
Eli
Lilly’s
Zepbound,
one
part
of
Amgen’s
treatment
activates
a
gut
hormone
receptor
called
GLP-1
to
help
regulate
a
person’s
appetite. 

But
while
Zepbound
activates
a
second
hormone
receptor
called
GIP,
Amgen’s
drug
blocks
it.
Wegovy
does
not
target
GIP,
which
suppresses
appetite
like
GLP-1,
but
may
also
improve
how
the
body
breaks
down
sugar
and
fat.

Amgen’s
injectable
treatment
also
appears
to
help
patients
keep
weight
off
after
they
stop
taking
it
based
on
some
clinical
trial
data.
The
drugmaker
is
also
testing
its
drug
to
be
taken
once
a
month
or
even
less
frequently,
which
could
offer
more
convenience
than
the
weekly
medicines
on
the
market. 

Patients
given
the
highest
dose
of
Amgen’s
MariTide
—
420
milligrams
—
every
month
lost
14.5%
of
their
body
weight
on
average
in
just
12
weeks,
according
to

data
from
the
phase
one
trial published
in
February
in
the
journal
Nature
Metabolism. 

Also
on
Thursday,
Amgen
reported
first-quarter
revenue
and
adjusted
earnings
that
topped
Wall
Street’s
expectations,
partly
due
to
products
from
the
recently
acquired
Horizon
Therapeutics. 

Here
is
what
Amgen
reported
for
the
first
quarter
compared
with
what
Wall
Street
was
expecting,
based
on
a
survey
of
analysts
by
LSEG:

• 
  Earnings
  per
  share:
  $3.96
  vs.
  $3.87
  expected
• 
  Revenue:
  $7.45
  billion
  vs.
  $7.44
  billion
  expected

Amgen
posted
a
net
loss
of
$113
million,
or
21
cents
per
share.
That
compares
to
a
net
income
of
$2.84
billion,
or
$5.28
per
share,
for
the
year-earlier
period.

Excluding
certain
items,
the
company
reported
earnings
of
$3.96
per
share. 

Amgen
booked
$7.45
billion
in
revenue
for
the
first
quarter,
up
22%
from
the
same
period
a
year
ago. 

That
includes
$914
million
from
Horizon
Therapeutics
products,
including
thyroid
eye
disease
treatment
Tepezza. 

Excluding
drugs
from
Horizon
Therapeutics,
Amgen
said
its
product
sales
grew
6%
from
the
year-earlier
period.
Ten
products
delivered
double-digit
volume
growth
during
the
first
quarter,
including
cardiovascular
drug
Repatha,
severe
asthma
treatment
Tezspire
and
Blincyto,
a
therapy
for
a
certain
blood
cancer.

Amgen
slightly
narrowed
its
full-year
guidance
up
from
the
bottom
on
Thursday
as
well. 

The
company
expects
2024
revenue
of
$32.5
billion
to
$33.8
billion.
That
compares
to
a
previous
guidance
of
$32.4
billion
to
$33.8
billion. 

Amgen
expects
a
full-year
adjusted
profit
of
$19
to
$20.20
per
share.
That
compares
to
a
previous
guidance
of
$18.90
to
$20.30
per
share. 

Analysts
surveyed
by
LSEG
expect
full-year
revenue
of
$32.95
billion
and
adjusted
profit
of
$19.48
per
share.