Amgen Advances Obesity Candidate with 22% Revenue Increase

Amgen presented its first-quarter 2024 earnings report, showcasing a 22% rise in total revenues and highlighting favorable mid-stage results for its emerging obesity treatment, MariTide. Chief Scientific Officer James Bradner, in an investor call, emphasized the company's confidence in MariTide’s unique profile, noting its potential to address significant unmet medical needs related to obesity, obesity-associated conditions, and diabetes.

Amgen is finalizing the ongoing Phase II trial of MariTide and plans to promptly progress to a broad Phase III program, as stated by Bradner. Additionally, the company has scheduled another dedicated Phase II study for later in the year, aimed at evaluating MariTide's efficacy in treating diabetes in patients with and without obesity. Bradner specified that this additional mid-stage study is not a prerequisite for the Phase III program but rather a step towards gaining a diabetes indication for MariTide.

MariTide is an injectable bispecific molecule that dual-targets the GIP receptor (inhibition) and the GLP-1 receptor (activation). Released Phase I data in February 2024 showed that MariTide led to a 14.5% reduction in body weight over 85 days in obese participants without diabetes. These results hint that MariTide might offer extended benefits beyond those of existing obesity treatments.

Simultaneously, while advancing MariTide, Amgen has decided to halt the development of its early-stage obesity pill. During the earnings call, Bradner confirmed that Amgen would cease further development of its small molecule drug candidate, AMG 786, noting that it did not meet the company's high standards set by MariTide. The Phase I study of AMG 786 has been completed, but no further details were provided.

In financial terms, Amgen reported $7.4 billion in total revenues for the first quarter of 2024, marking an increase of 22% compared to the previous year's same period. Despite this growth, the pharma’s diluted earnings per share slightly decreased to $3.96, down from $3.98 in Q1 2023.

Prolia (denosumab), an osteoporosis medication, led Amgen’s sales in Q1, bringing in nearly $1 billion. It was followed by Enbrel (etanercept), used for rheumatoid arthritis and plaque psoriasis, which generated $567 million. Significant revenue growth was also reported for Repatha (evolocumab) and Evenity (romosozumab-aqqg), with year-over-year sales increases of 33% and 35%, respectively.