The Amgen logo is displayed outside Amgen's headquarters in Thousand Oaks, California on May 17, 2023.
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Amgen said Thursday it will stop development of its experimental weight-loss pill and instead move forward with its injectable drug and other products in development for obesity.
Amgen is one of several drugmakers looking to join the red-hot weight loss drug market 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 still has other opportunities to capture a share of the market.
“Given the profile we've seen [the oral drug], we will not pursue further development. Instead, in the obesity space, we are investing in MariTide and a number of preclinical assets in several ways,” Amgen Chief Scientific Officer Jay Bradner said during an earnings call Thursday.
Amgen is developing an injectable obesity treatment called MariTide, which is in an ongoing trial phase 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 also planning a phase two trial of the drug in the treatment of diabetes.
Amgen shares rose more than 10% in extended trading Thursday after the MariTide commentary.
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 in the past year.
Pfizer in December scrapped a twice-daily version of its obesity pill, danugliprone, after patients had a hard time tolerating the drug during a trial phase. The company is now developing a once-daily version of that drug.
Investors are 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 in a different way than existing injectable drugs. Much like Novo Nordisk's Wegovy and Eli Lilly's Zepbound, 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 doesn't target GIP, which suppresses appetite like GLP-1 but can also improve the way the body breaks down sugar and fat.
Based on clinical trial data, Amgen's injectable treatment also appears to help patients maintain weight after they stop taking it. The drugmaker is also testing its drug that can be taken once a month or even less often, which could provide more convenience than the weekly drugs on the market.
Patients given the highest dose of Amgen's MariTide – 420 milligrams – lost an average of 14.5% of their body weight each month in just 12 weeks, according to data from the phase one study published in February in the journal Nature Metabolism.
Amgen's first quarter results
Also on Thursday, Amgen reported first-quarter revenue and adjusted earnings that beat Wall Street expectations, thanks in part to products from recently acquired Horizon Therapeutics.
Here's what Amgen reported for the first quarter, compared to what Wall Street expected, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:
- Profit per share: $3.96 vs. $3.87 expected
- Gain: $7.45 billion versus $7.44 billion expected
Amgen posted a net loss of $113 million, or 21 cents per share. That compares with net income of $2.84 billion, or $5.28 per share, in the same period a year earlier.
Excluding certain items, the company reported earnings of $3.96 per share.
Amgen posted first-quarter revenue of $7.45 billion, up 22% from the same period a year ago.
That includes $914 million from Horizon Therapeutics products, including eye disease treatment Tepezza.
Excluding drugs from Horizon Therapeutics, Amgen said product sales grew 6% from the same period a year earlier. 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 also slightly lowered its full-year guidance from the low on Thursday.
The company expects 2024 revenue of $32.5 billion to $33.8 billion. That compares with a previous expectation of $32.4 billion to $33.8 billion.
Amgen expects full-year adjusted earnings of $19 to $20.20 per share. That compares with a previous guidance of $18.90 to $20.30 per share.
Analysts polled by LSEG expect full-year revenue of $32.95 billion and adjusted earnings of $19.48 per share.