Earnings Preview: Amgen

NEW YORK - Amgen Inc., the world's largest biotechnology company, is scheduled to report its second-quarter results Monday. The following is a summary of key developments and analyst commentary for the period ended June 30. OVERVIEW: The Food and Drug Administration abstained from taking any further regulatory action concerning the anemia drugs Epogen and Aranesp during the quarter. The lack of additional burdens on the drugs, which are used to treat anemia caused by chemotherapy, helped allay some concerns after two years of sales declines amid safety issues. Both product sales and Amgen's stock have been hurt over the past two years after studies showed the drugs sped up growth for certain tumors, and linked the treatments to greater risks of blood vessel blockage and death. That prompted stricter warnings from the FDA and... [read full story]