Amgen Inc.'s earnings are up again for the second quarter andso are product sales, especially of Neupogen (recombinantgranulocyte-colony stimulating factor).

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) of Thousand Oaks, Calif., reported totalrevenues of $343.1 million for the quarter ended June 30, up33 percent from $261.3 million for the same quarter in 1992.

Net income for the second quarter of 1993 was $100.2 million,or 70 cents per share, a 29 percent increase over the samequarter in 1992, when net income was $71.6 million, or 49cents a share.

Amgen included in its second-quarter 1993 net income a one-time pretax legal award of $13.9 million from Genetics InstituteInc. (NASDAQ:GENIZ). This is part of the settlement between thetwo companies of all outstanding patent suits in the U.S. onerythropoietin (EPO). Excluding this award, Amgen's net incomefor the second quarter would be $91.6 million, or 64 cents ashare. That translates to a 20 percent increase over the samequarter last year.

Total product sales reached $327.8 million in the quarter endedJune 30, a 31 percent increase over the same quarter in 1992,said Gordon Binder, Amgen's chief executive officer.

The biggest increase in product sales came from Neupogen forreducing the incidence of infection in chemotherapy thatlowers white blood cell counts. Worldwide sales increased by48 percent from a year ago, reaching $187.8 million, Bindersaid. Of that, domestic sales accounted for $138.4 million, whileinternational sales accounted for $49.4 million.

Neupogen sales are even up significantly over the first quarterof this year, when they totaled $158.5 million worldwide and$101.9 million domestically.

But it's not always predictive to compare product sales quarterto quarter, Binder explained, because "distributors' inventoriesdo fluctuate." For instance, first-quarter sales of Neupogen"suffered from inventory reductions," he added.

Still, Binder said, there are a lot of constants in Neupogen'sprofile. For example, "the dosing per patient and the number ofdoses per cycle are stable; they're not really changing."

On the other hand, sales of Amgen's flagship product, Epogen(erythropoietin, for stimulating the production of red bloodcells), are fairly flat. For the quarter ended June 30, sales were$141 million, Binder explained, an increase of $3 million overthe previous quarter and $17.4 million, or 14.2 percent, overthe second quarter of 1992.

Binder remains optimistic about his company's financialprospects for the remainder of 1993. "We don't project futuresales, but we are relatively comfortable with analysts'projections (earnings per share of $2.35-$2.42) for the fullyear," he concluded.

Amgen's stock was unchanged on Thursday at $34.50 a share.

-- Jennifer Van Brunt Senior Editor

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