By Charles Craig

Amgen Inc., in its first quarter 1997 fiscal statement, reported $180 million in profits, or 65 cents per share, and revealed it filed an application with the FDA to market Stemgen, a stem cell factor, for use in helping cancer patients tolerate higher doses of chemotherapy.

The first quarter net income, on total revenues of $575 million, represented a 26 percent increase over profits of $144 million, or 51 cents per share, in the first quarter of 1996. Total revenues for the first three months of last year were $507.9 million.

The 65 cents per share earnings beat most predictions by Wall Street analysts.

Amgen's two marketed products, Epogen and Neupogen, generated $536 million in sales, a 12 percent increase over $477 million in sales during the first quarter of 1996.

Revenues from Epogen, a red blood cell booster used to treat anemia, jumped 19 percent to $292 million in the first quarter of 1997 from $244 million for the same period a year ago. Sales of Neupogen, which helps replenish white blood cells depleted by cancer chemotherapy, increased 5 percent to $244 million from $233 million.

Amgen reported its first quarter fiscal statement Thursday afternoon. The company's stock (NASDAQ:AMGN) ended Friday at $57.50, down $1.25.

An Amgen spokeswoman said the company early last week filed a biological license application with the FDA for Stemgen, a stem cell factor for boosting production of progenitor cells depleted by cancer chemotherapy.

Patients undergoing high-dose chemotherapy have blood drawn prior to the treatment to collect peripheral blood progenitor cells (PBPC), which are reinfused after chemotherapy to stimulate recovery of blood cells destroyed by the cancer treatments.

In Phase III trials, Amgen said, one-third fewer PBPC collections were required when patients were given Stemgen plus Neupogen compared with Neupogen alone.

With submission of Stemgen for marketing approval, Amgen now has two new drug applications before the FDA. The second, Infergen, is a consensus interferon and is under review for hepatitis C. Amgen officials expect to launch Infergen by the end of this year and Stemgen in mid-1998.

With only two drugs on the market, some Wall Street analysts have questioned long-term growth potential for Amgen, which is the biotechnology industry's top revenue producer.

David Crossen, analyst for Montgomery Securities, in San Francisco, said he does not expect Infergen or Stemgen to add much to Amgen's earnings growth.

And he suggested that while Epogen is a strong revenue producer, Neupogen is weak. "Doctors are being more selective in how they use Neupogen," Crossen said. "It's an expensive drug."

Amgen's 65 cents-per-share earnings for the first quarter "looked very impressive on the surface," Crossen said. "Sales were okay," he noted, but reductions in selling, general and administrative expenses strengthened the earnings-per-share performance.

In its first quarter fiscal report, Amgen noted its scientists discovered a protein, called osteoprotegerin. The protein is believed to inhibit osteoclasts, which are cells that dissolve bone, and may have application in treating osteoporosis. The discovery was published in Friday's issue of the journal Cell.

Amgen's research and development expenses increased to $147.7 million in the first quarter of 1997 from $130.6 million a year ago. *