AMGEN OUTLINES BOLD GROWTH PLAN.Byline: Gregory J. Wilcox Staff Writer THOUSAND OAKS Thousand Oaks, residential city (1990 pop. 104,352), Ventura co., S Calif., in a farm area; inc. 1964. Avocados, citrus, vegetables, strawberries, and nursery products are grown. - Executives of Amgen Inc., the world's biggest biotechnology company, on Wednesday outlined an aggressive growth strategy that could generate $9 billion in revenue and put five new products on the market by 2005. Analysts and investors heard an outline of the plan during a meeting in New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of . Investors were eager to learn how Amgen plans to offset softening sales of its two hottest products, Neupogen, a white blood cell stimulator, and Epogen, an anemia drug. Company officials said they expect revenue growth to be driven in part by new products, including ARANESP, which is under regulatory review. The drug is for patients with kidney and cancer complications. ``These are exciting times for Amgen. ARANESP is a huge opportunity, and Amgen is well prepared to capitalize on Cap´i`tal`ize on` v. t. 1. To turn (an opportunity) to one's advantage; to take advantage of (a situation); to profit from; as, to capitalize on an opponent's mistakes s>. it,'' the chief executive officer and president, Kevin Sharer, said in writing. He also notes that the worldwide anemia-treatment market, now estimated at $5 billion, is projected to double over the next five years. Company officials said they plan to invest an industry-leading percentage of revenues in research and development, invest aggressively to support new product launches and attract and retain outstanding people. Analyst Douglas Christopher at Crowell Weedon in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. said the company's target is reachable. ``I think it's good to have that game plan out there,'' Christopher said. It could also equal earnings per share of $2.20, he said. And the company is in good shape now, with almost $1.9 billion in cash, just $223 million in long-term debt Long-Term Debt Loans and financial obligations lasting over one year. Notes: For example debts obligations such as bonds and notes which have maturities greater than one year would be considered long-term debt. and $3.59 billion in equity, Christopher said. ``Their after-tax margin is over 30 percent, so it's one of the most profitable publicly traded companies publicly traded company A company whose shares of common stock are held by the public and are available for purchase by investors. The shares of publicly traded firms are bought and sold on the organized exchanges or in the over-the-counter market. in the world,'' he said. |
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