Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) executives outlined the company’s growth priorities, pipeline strategy and tax position during a Bank of America health care conference appearance, emphasizing first-quarter momentum across key products and confidence in several late-stage development programs.
Peter Griffith, Amgen’s executive vice president and chief financial officer, said the company views 2026 as a “springboard year,” in which growth products are expected to offset patent expirations and rising competition. He said first-quarter revenue rose 6% year over year, product sales increased 4% and non-GAAP earnings per share rose 5%.
Repatha Remains Amgen’s Top Growth Driver
Griffith described Repatha as Amgen’s No. 1 growth driver, citing a 34% year-over-year sales increase in the first quarter to about $900 million. He said growth was supported by strong volume trends and rising urgency to treat patients in both secondary prevention and high-risk primary prevention.
New-to-brand prescriptions increased roughly 45% year over year in the quarter, Griffith said, with support from cardiology and primary care settings. He also said access and affordability are no longer major barriers, noting that Repatha is on “virtually every major U.S. formulary” and that most patients pay less than $50 per month.
Jay Bradner, Amgen’s executive vice president of research and development, said recent guideline updates and data from VESALIUS-CV are helping raise awareness and demand for Repatha. He said PCSK9 monoclonal antibodies are now called out by name in guidelines and that prior authorization requirements have been reduced substantially.
UPLIZNA Gains Attention in Generalized Myasthenia Gravis
Bradner also discussed UPLIZNA, which Amgen is developing and commercializing across B-cell-mediated autoimmune diseases. In generalized myasthenia gravis, or gMG, he said the company’s confidence is based on efficacy, durability, convenience and the drug’s targeting of causal biology through CD19-mediated B-cell depletion.
Bradner said UPLIZNA is given every six months after a loading dose, which he characterized as a meaningful convenience advantage for patients. He said the medicine has been “rather well-tolerated” to date.
An Amgen representative said early gMG uptake has been roughly split between biologic-experienced and biologic-naive patients. Bradner said the next two indications for UPLIZNA will be autoimmune hepatitis and chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy, or CIDP, with phase 3 studies expected to start later this year.
MariTide Positioned Around Less Frequent Dosing
Amgen executives spent significant time discussing MariTide, the company’s obesity candidate. Griffith said Amgen expects MariTide to be relevant for weight loss induction, long-term weight maintenance and patients switching from weekly GLP-1 therapies. He said the potential for as few as four or six injections per year reflects how obesity care may evolve.
Bradner described MariTide as a GIP antagonist antibody with GLP-1 agonist peptides that has shown “dramatic efficacy on weight loss” and is designed for less frequent dosing. He said Amgen has presented data supporting monthly and every-eight-week dosing, and that the company is studying every-eight-week and every-12-week dosing in phase 3 trials.
On tolerability, Bradner said MariTide is “extremely well tolerated at target dose” and argued that the antibody-based design may provide smoother exposure than pills or weekly injectables. He said dose escalation remains important, adding that Amgen is using a three-step dose escalation approach in phase 3 studies.
Bradner said Amgen is also studying MariTide in maintenance and switching settings, including whether less frequent maintenance dosing can preserve weight loss and whether patients on weekly injectables can transition to less frequent MariTide. He said maintenance studies disclosed on ClinicalTrials.gov are expected to last about a calendar year, and noted that more than 90% of patients in a prior phase 2 study chose to continue into a maintenance extension.
Olpasiran Readout Expected After Competitor Data
Bradner addressed olpasiran, Amgen’s investigational Lp(a)-lowering therapy, saying competitor data from Novartis expected midyear would be “directional, but not absolute” for Amgen’s OCEAN(a) study.
He said both companies are testing the same broad hypothesis around Lp(a), a genetically defined risk factor for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Bradner said Novartis’ pelacarsen reduces Lp(a) by roughly 70% to 75%, while olpasiran reduces Lp(a) by more than 95%.
Bradner also noted differences in trial design, saying Novartis is using a four-point major adverse cardiovascular events endpoint while Amgen is using a three-point endpoint. He said Amgen does not expect its event-driven study to read out this year and will provide more guidance as the target number of events approaches.
Amgen Reiterates Tax Position on Puerto Rico Operations
Griffith also addressed Amgen’s tax dispute with the IRS involving value attribution for Puerto Rico operations. He said the IRS argues that the operations should be treated as limited-value contract manufacturing, a position Amgen “strongly” disputes.
He said the 2010-to-2015 tax court matter has been fully tried and litigated, with no decision expected before the second half of 2026. Griffith added that Amgen received a draft notice of proposed adjustment in April for similar transfer pricing issues for 2016 to 2018, calling it an early step in a likely multiyear process rather than a final determination.
Griffith said Amgen recently announced an additional $300 million investment in Puerto Rico, building on a previously announced $650 million investment. He said Puerto Rico remains a core part of Amgen’s U.S. manufacturing network and that the company continues to believe the IRS claims are without merit and its reserves are appropriate.
About Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN)
Amgen Inc (NASDAQ: AMGN) is a global biotechnology company founded in 1980 and headquartered in Thousand Oaks, California. The company focuses on discovering, developing, manufacturing and delivering human therapeutics that address serious illnesses. Amgen’s work centers on biologic medicines derived from cellular and molecular biology, with an emphasis on translating advances in human genetics and protein science into therapies for patients.
Amgen’s commercial portfolio has historically included biologics used in oncology, supportive care, nephrology, bone health and cardiovascular disease.
