Copied/Pasted from the NY Times article:
NEW YORK ( Reuters (http://www.nytimes.com/redirect/marketwatch/redirect.ctx?MW=http://custom.marketwatch.com/custom/nyt-com/html-companyprofile.asp&symb=RTRSY)) - Amgen Inc. (http://www.nytimes.com/redirect/marketwatch/redirect.ctx?MW=http://custom.marketwatch.com/custom/nyt-com/html-companyprofile.asp&symb=AMGN%%%business,technology:::More information about Amgen Inc.:::http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/amgen_inc/index.html), whose top-selling anemia drugs have come under fire over safety concerns, on Thursday reported a better-than-expected second-quarter profit and said its most important experimental drug met all its goals in a pivotal clinical trial, sending its shares higher.
Amgen's <AMGN.O> revenue increased 3 percent in the quarter to $3.73 billion, just above Wall Street forecasts of $3.69 billion.
But worldwide sales of its biggest product, the anemia drug Aranesp, fell 10 percent to $949 million due to declining use in the United States.
"This has been a difficult period and this quarter's low growth is a reflection of that reality," Chief Executive Kevin Sharer said in a statement.
The world's largest biotechnology company by sales posted a net profit of $1.02 billion, or 90 cents per share, compared with a net of $14 million, or 1 cent per share, a year earlier.
Excluding items, Amgen earned $1.12 per share, beating analysts' average forecast of $1.07 per share, according to Reuters Estimates. Without a $1.1 billion acquisition charge, Amgen earned $1.05 a share in the year-ago quarter.
Amgen said it now expects 2007 adjusted earnings, excluding items, of $4.28 per share, above analysts' average estimate of $4.19 per share for the year, according to Reuters estimates.
The company said its closely watched experimental drug denosumab met all primary and secondary goals in a late-stage, 252-patient breast cancer trial.
The drug is seen as potentially filling a void in sales growth once projected for the company's existing products. It's being tested mainly as a treatment for osteoporosis and various forms of cancer, especially bone cancer.
Amgen shares rose 1.4 percent to $56.93 in extended electronic trading from their Nasdaq (http://www.nytimes.com/redirect/marketwatch/redirect.ctx?MW=http://custom.marketwatch.com/custom/nyt-com/html-companyprofile.asp&symb=arts,automobiles,books,business,college,dining,education,fashion,garden,giving,health,jobs,maga zine,movies,multimedia,nyregion,obituaries,realestate,science,sports,style,technology,theater,travel ,us,washington,weekinreview,world:::More articles about Nasdaq Stock Market:::http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/n/nasdaq_stock_market/index.html) close at $56.16.
Amgen's shares, which have been under pressure due to concerns that Aranesp sales would decline sharply, are down 17 percent this year. By comparison, the American Stock Exchange (http://www.nytimes.com/redirect/marketwatch/redirect.ctx?MW=http://custom.marketwatch.com/custom/nyt-com/html-companyprofile.asp&symb=arts,automobiles,books,business,college,dining,education,fashion,garden,giving,health,jobs,maga zine,movies,multimedia,nyregion,obituaries,realestate,science,sports,style,technology,theater,travel ,us,washington,weekinreview,world:::More articles about American Stock Exchange:::http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/a/american_stock_exchange/index.html) Biotech Index <.BTK> is up about 4 percent for the year.
(Reporting by Bill Berkrot, Ransdell Pierson and Lisa Baertlein)