Amgen Reports Strong Q1 Growth Driven by Cholesterol Drug, Advances Weight-Loss Drug MariTide Development
核心洞察
Amgen reported first-quarter product sales growth of 4% to $8.6 billion, with adjusted earnings per share rising 5% to $5.15, beating analyst expectations of $4.76.
Cholesterol (搜索) drug Repatha delivered standout performance with 34% sales growth to $876 million, while osteoporosis (搜索) drug Prolia declined 34% to $727 million due to patent competition.
The company is expanding Phase 3 trials for experimental weight-loss drug MariTide across obesity (搜索) and related conditions, with plans to begin three diabetes (搜索) studies this year.
Amgen delivered solid first-quarter results with product sales rising 4% and earnings beating analyst expectations, while the biotechnology company advances its experimental weight-loss drug MariTide through an expanded Phase 3 development program.
The California-based biotech reported adjusted earnings per share of $5.15, surpassing analyst expectations of $4.76 by 8%. Quarterly revenue increased 6% year-over-year to $8.6 billion, matching Wall Street estimates despite headwinds from declining bone disease drug sales.
Cholesterol Drug Drives Growth
Repatha, Amgen's cholesterol (搜索)-lowering therapy, emerged as the quarter's standout performer with sales jumping 34% to $876 million, exceeding analyst estimates of $835 million. According to Citi Research analyst Geoffrey Meacham, Repatha sales were the "standout" for the quarter, though he noted that results for other products were mixed.
First-quarter product sales increased 9% by volume, while net prices and inventory levels each declined 2%, resulting in the overall 4% quarter-over-quarter sales growth.
Patent Competition Impacts Bone Disease Portfolio
The company's osteoporosis (搜索) drug Prolia faced significant headwinds, with sales falling 34% to $727 million, missing analyst estimates of $831 million. The decline reflects increased competition following patent expirations in the bone disease treatment market.
MariTide Development Program Expands
CEO Robert Bradway expressed growing confidence in MariTide during a conference call, announcing the launch of two new studies. One trial will examine how patients transition from weekly injectable GLP-1 (搜索) drugs to MariTide, which requires administration only four to six times per year.
Amgen is conducting a broad range of Phase 3 trials of the experimental GLP-1 (搜索) drug across obesity (搜索) and related conditions, including heart disease (搜索) and sleep apnea (搜索). The company plans to initiate three Phase 3 studies of the injected drug for diabetes (搜索) patients this year.
Regulatory Challenges with Autoimmune Drug
The FDA this week proposed withdrawing approval of Amgen's autoimmune disease (搜索) drug Tavneos, citing lack of proven effectiveness and alleged false statements in the original application. Despite the regulatory setback, Tavneos sales rose 32% to $114 million in the first quarter.
Amgen has submitted a label amendment providing additional information on liver toxicity related to the drug. "We are confident in the risk/benefit profile of this medicine," said Amgen Chief Scientific Officer Jay Bradner.
Raised Full-Year Outlook
For full-year 2026, Amgen slightly increased its outlook for adjusted earnings per share to between $21.70 and $23.10, up from the previous forecast of $21.60 to $23.00. The company also raised its revenue estimate to $37.1 billion to $38.5 billion, from the prior range of $37 billion to $38.4 billion.
Citi's Meacham noted that Amgen's slight increase in its full-year outlook "does not meaningfully change the narrative" for the company. Amgen shares rose 2.4% in regular trading but declined 2% to $339 in after-hours trading following the earnings announcement.