Amgen 1st-quarter profit rises on cost cutting : US Business

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Amgen Inc reported higher first-quarter profit on Thursday, topping estimates, as cost cutting helped offset declining sales of its anemia drugs hit by safety concerns and reimbursement restrictions.

The world's largest biotechnology company by sales said net profit rose to $1.14 billion, or $1.04 per share, from $1.11 billion, or 94 cents per share, a year ago.

Excluding items, Amgen earned $1.12 per share, beating analysts' average expectations by 8 cents, according to Reuters Estimates.

Total revenue fell 2 percent to $3.61 billion, in line with Wall Street estimates.

The erosion of the anemia franchise continued unabated as worldwide sales of the red blood cell booster Aranesp -- long seen as Amgen's most important product -- fell 25 percent to $761 million in the quarter. That was below Wall Street's diminished estimate of $771 million and well below the previous quarter's $827 million, marking the fifth successive quarterly decline.

The older anemia treatment Epogen, used primarily in kidney dialysis patients, saw sales fall 11 percent to $554 million, missing analyst estimates of $604 million.

Aggressive cost cutting helped stem the tide of plunging anemia drug sales. Research and development spending was down 18 percent for the quarter, while capital expenditures were slashed to $170 million from $325 million a year ago.

Enbrel, a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis and the skin condition psoriasis, provided a major bright spot as sales jumped 30 percent to $951 million, handily topping expectations of $868 million.

Combined global sales of Neulasta and Neupogen, used to boost white blood cells, rose 7 percent to $1.08 billion.

Amgen shares are down about 9 percent this year, continuing the sharp decline seen in 2007 amid a steady drumbeat of negative news involving its top-selling anemia drugs.

Amgen reaffirmed its 2008 forecast for adjusted earnings of $4.00 to $4.30 per share.

(Reporting by Bill Berkrot and Ransdell Pierson; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)

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