FAVORABLE NEWS PUTS AMGEN'S STOCK UP; MEDICARE EXPANDS DRUG SALES POTENTIAL.Byline: Ben Sullivan Daily News Staff Writer Shares in biotechnology powerhouse A fourth-generation language from Cognos that was introduced in the late 1970s for midrange computers. It supports both character-oriented, terminal-based applications as well as Windows clients. Applications developed under PowerHouse can be imported into Cognos' Axiant client/server environment. Amgen Inc. rose more than 6 percent Wednesday on news the government has expanded reimbursement Reimbursement Payment made to someone for out-of-pocket expenses has incurred. for one of the company's top-selling drugs and rumors that a pharmaceutical company is considering a bid for Amgen. Amgen shares rose $4.06 Wednesday to close at $66.75. The gain followed a similar rise Tuesday, bringing the issue's two-day gain to 11 percent. The federal government said Wednesday that it will expand the pool of Medicare patients eligible for subsidized sub·si·dize tr.v. sub·si·dized, sub·si·diz·ing, sub·si·diz·es 1. To assist or support with a subsidy. 2. To secure the assistance of by granting a subsidy. Epogen, an Amgen drug used to boost a patient's red blood cell count red blood cell count, n the number of red blood cells (erthrocytes) in 1 mm3 of blood; a useful diagnostic tool in the determination of several kinds of anemia. See also mean corpuscular hemoglobin. . Last year, the Health Care Financing Administration Health Care Financing Administration, n.pr department in the U.S. agency of Health and Human Services responsible for the oversight of the Medicaid and Medicare benefit programs, including guidelines, payment, and coverage policies. , which runs Medicare, said only patients whose red blood cells Red blood cells Cells that carry hemoglobin (the molecule that transports oxygen) and help remove wastes from tissues throughout the body. Mentioned in: Bone Marrow Transplantation red blood cells accounted for less than 36.5 percent of the total volume of their blood over a three-month period would be eligible. The government Wednesday changed the cutoff to 37.5 percent, meaning more patients can receive the drug and those getting it can be given higher doses. That should translate into increased sales of Epogen, which generated about half of Amgen's 1997 revenues of $2.4 billion. ``This is certainly positive,'' said analyst Robert LeBoyer at San Francisco-based Genesis Merchant Group Securities. ``It eliminates the fear of penalties (on physicians prescribing Epogen) and encourages higher dosing.'' But Amgen's share price is now ``probably what I'd call close to fully valued Fully Valued A stock whose price analysts believe reflects the market's recognition of the company's underlying fundamental earnings power and therefore is unlikely to rise further in price. If the stock goes up from that price, it is called overvalued. . Beyond this, you need new drugs coming out of the pipeline to justify a higher price target,'' LeBoyer said. One additional factor that could boost the share price is speculation over a buyout. Rumors that Johnson & Johnson is considering a bid for Amgen were circulating Wednesday and likely contributed to the stock's rise, said Prudential Securities analyst Caroline Copithorne. But, she said, the two companies are not an ideal fit. Because both firms have robust management and sales forces, there would be redundancies that Johnson & Johnson would have to pay for but which would add little to the combined organization's value. ``In my mind they'd be paying for something they don't need,'' Copithorne said. Rumors last month over a possible sale of Amgen to DuPont Co. led to a similar - but short-lived - rise in Amgen's share price. |
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