New York (awp/afp) – The Omicron variant caused sales of Amgen drugs to start falling again at the end of 2021, but the American pharmaceutical company was able to count on the partnership with its competitor Eli Lilly around the manufacture of antibodies for anti-Covid treatment.
The group, which offers drugs against cholesterol (Repatha), against osteoporosis (Prolia) or autoimmune diseases (Enbrel), had suffered in 2020 from the drop in routine visits to doctors, who had no could not prescribe so many new treatments.
Visits gradually resumed last year, “with diagnosis rates approaching pre-pandemic levels early in the fourth quarter,” Amgen said in an earnings release Monday.
But with the Omicron variant, “we have seen a return of our medical representatives to virtual meetings, the postponement of health care procedures, and a variability in demand”, adds the group.
Result: sales of the group’s products fell by 1% in the fourth quarter.
They have certainly increased by 7% in volume, but the group has also had to lower the prices of certain treatments to face up to the competition.
Amgen, however, boosted its “other income” thanks to the manufacture of antibodies for a treatment against Covid developed by Eli Lilly.
Its turnover increased by 3% over the quarter, to 6.85 billion dollars.
Its net profit climbed 18% to 1.9 billion.
For the full year, Amgen’s revenue rose 2% to $26 billion and net profit fell 19% to $5.9 billion.
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