New Medicare reimbursement policy slows sales growth rate of EPOGEN -- Epoetin alfa.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. , Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 16, 1997--Amgen (NASDAQ NASDAQ in full National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations U.S. market for over-the-counter securities. Established in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), NASDAQ is an automated quotation system that reports on :AMGN) Monday said that it anticipates a modest reduction in the year-over-year growth rate of sales of EPOGEN(R) for fiscal 1997, due to actions taken by dialysis providers in response to the previously-announced Medicare Hematocrit Hematocrit Definition The hematocrit measures how much space in the blood is occupied by red blood cells. It is useful when evaluating a person for anemia. Purpose Blood is made up of red and white blood cells, and plasma. Measurement Audit (HMA (High Memory Area) In PCs, the first 64K of extended memory from 1024K to 1088K, which can be accessed by DOS. It is managed by the HIMEM.SYS driver. It was discovered by accident that this area could be used by DOS, even though it was beyond the traditional ) reimbursement guidelines, now scheduled to take effect on Aug. 1. Prior to this change, 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. (HCFA HCFA abbr. Health Care Financing Administration HCFA, n.pr See Health Care Financing Administration. ) fiscal intermediaries were authorized to pay for patients whose hematocrits were above the HCFA-approved level of 36 percent with adequate medical justification. Under the new rules, medical justification will no longer be accepted for payment of claims for hematocrits above 36 percent, and reimbursement will be denied if hematocrits exceed 36.5 percent on a 90-day "rolling average" basis. In anticipating implementation of the new guidelines, some dialysis providers are temporarily withholding doses of EPOGEN from some patients whose hematocrits exceed 36 percent and will administer reduced doses to some patients in the future. Amgen said the effect of the rules change on EPOGEN sales is not expected to be material for the year. Amgen remains comfortable with the current range of analysts' estimates for earnings per share of $2.80 to $2.85 for the year, and with the analysts' range of $0.70 to $0.73 for the second quarter. Amgen is a global biotechnology company that discovers, develops, manufactures and markets human therapeutics based on advances in cellular and molecular biology molecular biology, scientific study of the molecular basis of life processes, including cellular respiration, excretion, and reproduction. The term molecular biology was coined in 1938 by Warren Weaver, then director of the natural sciences program at the Rockefeller . EDITOR'S NOTE: An electronic version of this news release may be accessed via Amgen's Web site at www.Amgen.com . Visit the Corporate Center and click on Amgen News. Journalists and media representatives may sign up to receive all news releases electronically at time of announcement by filling out a short form in the Amgen News section of the Web site. CONTACT: Amgen, Thousand Oaks David Kaye, 805/447-6692 (media) Denise Powell, 805/447-4346 (investors) |
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