Sales Fall Off for Amgen’s New Anti-Infection Drug

Sales of Amgen’s newest biotechnology drug slipped to $33.4 million in the quarter ended June 30, down from $52.9 million in the company’s March quarter when the drug was introduced. The drug, with the brand name Neupogen, triggers production of white blood cells and has proved to be effective in combatting infections in cancer chemotherapy patients. Some analysts had expected Amgen, based in Thousand Oaks, to sell about $200 million worth of Neupogen in its first full year, so the latest sales were considered disappointing.

But Amgen officials said Neupogen sales in July are ahead of the sales pace for the June quarter.

Amgen’s product is in fierce competition with a similar new white-blood-cell drug sold by Immunex Corp., a Seattle-based biotechnology concern. Analysts expect the family of white-blood-cell products to become the industry’s next blockbuster biotechnology drugs.