Amgen, Inc. (AMGN)’s Drug Trial Fails To Live Up To Expectation

Shares of Amgen, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN), which are up almost 16% this year, were trending high in the early afternoon hours, gaining nearly 4% after a day that saw them topple following negative study results. It appears as though investors are now less concerned about the failed trail because the company said the positive results obtained earlier this month would be sufficient to support submissions for regulatory approvals around the world. On CNBC, Yaron Werber, senior biotech analysts at Citi Investment Research, weighed in on the failed study and what lies ahead for the company.

Amgen, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) reported that a study of its drug Kyprolis, for a type of blood cancer, failed to help patients live longer compared to the standard care. The study focused on patients with an advanced case of the blood cancer condition known as multiple myeloma. The drug is approved in the U.S., but the company needed survival evidence to obtain approval in Europe.

Coming on to the case of Amgen, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) and the failure of Kyprolis to improve survival rates, Werber said all is not lost for the company because it already has study results that are good enough for approval.

“This is one of the main reasons why Amgen quite earned it. To put it into perspective, they’ve had another study that was successful recently for the drug that will get approved. But overall, if you look at the profile of this drug Kyrolis  myeloma, which is a blood cancer, the overall profile is probably not quite with originally expected, and we think maybe numbers are going to come down,” he said.

He also talked about Amgen, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)’s journey into developing treatment for myeloma and the marketing opportunity for Kyrolis. He noted that the market is there, but the challenge is that patients keep advancing to better drugs that can keep them alive.

“The market is sizable and continues to grow, and as you know, unfortunately, patients with cancer die, and they always progress from one drug to the next […],” said Werber.

Disclosure: none