Executive Summary

Big biotech Amgen follows Johnson & Johnson into the reporting box on Wednesday 23rd January. Like J&J which reported its annual results on 22 January, Amgen shares with Lance Armstrong an interest in ESAs. Unlike the cyclist, they still have a lot riding on EPOs, and for Amgen they represent more than a fifth of the revenue base. Nevertheless, the firm has a number of other fish to fry as it manages the slow decline of its Aranesp (darbepoetin alfa)/Epogen (epoetin alfa) business, and it was confident enough at the end of the fourth quarter to raise its full-year group revenue guidance from $16.9-17.2 billion to $17.2-17.3 billion.