Amgen’s 3rd-Quarter Profit Increases by 11%

Amgen Inc., the nation’s largest biotechnology firm, said the continued success of its two blockbuster drugs boosted its third-quarter profit by 11%.

In the quarter that ended Sept. 30, Amgen, based in Thousand Oaks, reported net income of $114 million, compared to $103 million a year earlier. Revenues in the latest quarter were $426 million, up 20% from $355 million during the same three-month period in 1993.

For its nine-month period, Amgen posted a profit of $315 million on revenues of $1.21 billion, compared to a year-earlier profit of $292 million on $1.01 billion in revenue.

Amgen attributed the growth to continued improvement in sales of its Epogen and Neupogen drugs, which are widely used by kidney dialysis and cancer patients. Sales of Epogen totaled $187 million in the third quarter, up 25% from the year-earlier quarter. Meanwhile, sales of Neupogen climbed 15% to $215 million.

Gordon Binder, chief executive of Amgen, said the strength of Epogen and Neupogen “will enable us to achieve double-digit sales and earnings growth in 1995.”

In the third quarter, Amgen also submitted an application to the Food and Drug Administration for permission to begin human clinical trials of a new drug that may be useful in treating neurological disorders, the company said.