` AMGEN: ENVIRONMENTAL, COMPETITIVE IMPACT OF BIOTECHNOLGY

The Neurobiology and Endocrine Disorders Segment

Amgen, Inc., with headquarters in Thousand Oaks, CA. "develops and manufactures human therapeutic products based on advanced cellular and molecular biology" (Galenet, 2002, p. 1). Annual sales in the last fiscal year totaled $3,628,400,000.

Amgen is the industry's largest company, and has just four products on the market, but in December, 2001, made "a startling decision to buy ImmunexàImmunex's rheumatoid arthritis drug, Enbrel, was approved in 1998, and is expected to generate revenues of $3 billion by 2005" (Rae-Dupree, 2002, p. 36). "It agreed to pay $16 billionàprimarily foer the right to acquire its exciting arthiritis drug, Enbrel" (O'Keefe, 2002, p. 135). The biggest Amgen competitor in the biotech area is American Home Products which had been expected to buy Immunex. Baxter Laboratories is another competitor, becoming a leading manufacturer of vaccines and products for hemophilia.

What is difficult to predict in the way of competition is the results of R & D and approval of new drugs by the FDA. Amgen entered into a licensing agreement in 1995 to develop new products based on the ob gene, according top Amgen's technology website (A: echnological factor 4 amgen.htm).

The key to success in this particular segment of biotechnology is the amount of dollars available to be spent on research. The total is well into the billions

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Some common words found in the essay are:
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