¿ Amgen Inc., of Thousand Oaks, Calif., said earnings per share increased 12 percent to 28 cents per share in the first quarter. Net income increased 15 percent to $305 million. Sales of Epogen reached $503 million, up from $440 million in the first quarter of 2000. The company modified its guidance for the year due to somewhat slower-than-expected Aranesp approval. It lowered guidance for the combined Epogen/Aranesp sales growth rate from the high teens to the low 20s down to the low teens. Amgen estimates sales of Aranesp in new markets will be between $100 million and $150 million.

¿ Argonaut Technologies Inc., of San Carlos, Calif., appointed David Binkley chairman and CEO. Lissa Goldenstein was promoted to president and chief operating officer.

¿ Endorex Corp., of Lake Forrest, Ill., said its president, Michael Rosen, will speak at Northwestern University¿s inaugural Biotech at Kellogg 2001 Conference in Evanston, Ill. Rosen will speak on ¿Biotech in the Postgenomic Era.¿ Northwestern will introduce a new department at the conference, the Kellogg Center for Biotechnology, which will focus on biotechnology¿s economic impact and relationship to other industries as well as the need for new business models, strategies and management.

¿ EpiGenX Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Santa Barbara, Calif., elected Louis Mattis chairman of its board of directors. Larry Bymaster was appointed president and CEO and made a director.

¿ Gene Logic Inc., of Gaithersburg, Md., said its president and CEO Mark Gessler was appointed chairman of the board of directors. Gessler succeeds Michael Brennan, who has served as chair since March 2000.

¿ Human Genome Sciences Inc., of Rockville, Md., said revenues for the first quarter were $5.3 million, and its net loss was $13 million, or 10 cents per share. In 2000, the company posted a first quarter loss of 70 cents per share. HGS reported cash and short-term investments of $1.76 billion at the end of the first quarter, and $12.5 million in restricted cash. HGSI has about 125.7 million shares outstanding.

¿ Inhibitex Inc., of Alpharetta, Ga., appointed Michael Henos chairman. Henos served as chairman from August 1997 to January 2000, and succeeds Carl Brooks, who will continue as a director.

¿ Novogen Ltd., of Stamford, Conn., created a new company, Marshall Edwards Inc. MEI will develop and commercialize phenoxodiol, an anticancer drug candidate. It will be publicly traded on the Australian stock market after an initial public offering that seeks to raise $28 million, for which a prospectus has been filed.

¿ Progenics Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Tarrytown, N.Y., and F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., of Basel, Switzerland, renewed their research collaboration focused on the discovery and development of novel HIV therapeutics. The program aims to identify drugs that target HIV coreceptors ¿ molecular structures on the cell membrane that enable the virus to gain entry into the cell. Financial terms were undisclosed.

¿ Sanofi-Synthelabo, of Paris, and NV Organon, of Oss, the Netherlands, said the FDA granted priority review status to its synthetic pentasaccharide, Aristra (fondaparinux sodium), for prevention of venous thrombo-embolic events following orthopedic surgery. The companies submitted a new drug application for Aristra in February.

¿ Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Corona, Calif., filed a new drug application with the FDA for its oxybutynin transdermal system for the treatment of overactive bladder. Oxybutynin is an anti-cholinergic drug that stabilizes bladder muscle to reduce the urgent sensations to urinate.