Has Amgen, Inc. (AMGN) Become the Perfect Stock?

As a giant in the industry, Amgen has pioneered biotechnology, with drug development that has covered a huge variety of different ailments. From cancer to arthritis and psoriasis, Amgen has focused its attention on areas where demographic trends favor continued growth in the coming years.

But more recently, Amgen has had mixed results from its established stable of treatments. Biosimilar competition outside the U.S. has held back sales growth for its Neulasta/Neupogen treatment for chemotherapy side effects, and with Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (ADR) (NYSE:TEVA) launching a biosimilar this November, U.S. sales will probably take a hit as well. Anemia drugs Aranesp and Epogen have suffered sales declines even though Affymax, Inc. (NASDAQ:AFFY)‘s Omontys hasn’t yet made a big impact in the market. Still, revenue from anti-inflammatory Enbrel jumped 23% in its most recent quarter, and some of its less well-known drugs posted strong sales gains as well.

For future growth, Amgen has a pipeline of promising drugs in development. But its recent acquisition of deCODE Genetics signals a possible move into the trend toward personalized medicines, with analysis of patients’ genetic code allowing Amgen to tailor its drugs not just to certain diseases but also to particular subgroups of patients with those diseases. Amgen also expanded last week on plans to develop biosimilar drugs, planning to go up against AbbVie Inc (NYSE:ABBV)‘s Humira and other major blockbuster treatments.

For Amgen to improve, it needs to keep finding ways to ratchet up growth and continue boosting its new dividend. With so much potential, though, Amgen should have plenty of chances to get closer to perfection in the near future.

The article Has Amgen Become the Perfect Stock? originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Dan Caplinger.

Fool contributor Dan Caplinger and The Motley Fool have no position in any of the stocks mentioned.

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