Amgen scraps experimental weight-loss pill, moves forward with shot

amgen On Thursday it said it will stop developing its experimental weight-loss pill and instead move forward with its injectable drug and other obesity products in development.

Amgen is among several drugmakers vying to join the hot weight-loss drug space dominated by Nordisk and Eli Lilly, which some analysts say could be worth $100 billion by the end of the decade. But the company has other opportunities to capture market share.

“Given the profile we have seen with [the oral drug], we will not continue with development. Instead, in obesity, we are differentially investing in MariTide and a number of preclinical assets,” Jay Bradner, Amgen's chief scientific officer, said during an earnings call Thursday.

Amgen is developing an injectable obesity treatment called MariTide, which is in an ongoing trial in overweight or obese adults without diabetes. The company will release initial data from that study later this year, and Bradner said Amgen is “very pleased” with the results so far.

The company said it is working with regulators to plan a late-stage trial for the treatment. Amgen said Thursday that it is also planning a stage two trial of the drug in the treatment of diabetes.

Amgen shares rose more than 10% in extended trading Thursday following the MariTide comment.

Amgen also has other drugs in development for weight management.

The drugmaker's oral medication, called AMG-786, is the second weight-loss pill to be discontinued in the past year.

In December, Pfizer scrapped a twice-daily version of its anti-obesity pill, danuglipron, after patients had difficulty tolerating the drug in a mid-stage trial. The company is now developing a version of that drug that is taken once a day.

Investors are focused on Amgen's portfolio of experimental weight loss treatments. Amgen hopes to stand out from the crowded field of potential players with a different approach.

The company's experimental injection helps people lose weight differently than existing injectable medications. Much like Novo Nordisk's Wegovy and Eli Lilly's Zepbound, part of Amgen's treatment activates a gut hormone receptor called GLP-1 to help regulate a person's appetite.

But while Zepbound activates a second hormone receptor called GIP, Amgen's drug blocks it. Wegovy does not target GIP, which suppresses appetite like GLP-1, but it may also improve the way the body breaks down sugar and fat.

Amgen's injectable treatment also appears to help patients maintain weight after they stop taking it, according to some clinical trial data. The drugmaker is also testing having its medication taken once a month or even less frequently, which could offer more convenience than weekly medications available on the market.

Patients who received the highest dose of Amgen's MariTide (420 milligrams) each month lost 14.5% of their body weight on average in just 12 weeks, according to data from the phase one trial published in February in the journal Nature Metabolism. .

Also on Thursday, Amgen reported first-quarter revenue and adjusted earnings that beat Wall Street expectations, in part due to products from recently acquired Horizon Therapeutics.

Here's what Amgen reported for the first quarter compared to what Wall Street expected, according to a survey of analysts by LSEG:

• Earnings per share: $3.96 vs. $3.87 expected
• Revenue: $7.45 billion vs. $7.44 billion expected

Amgen posted a net loss of $113 million, or 21 cents per share. That compares with net income of $2.84 billion, or $5.28 per share, in the same period a year earlier.

Excluding certain items, the company reported earnings of $3.96 per share.

Amgen posted revenue of $7.45 billion in the first quarter, up 22% from the same period a year earlier.

That includes $914 million of Horizon Therapeutics products, including thyroid eye disease treatment Tepezza.

Excluding Horizon Therapeutics drugs, Amgen said sales of its products grew 6% from the same period a year earlier. Ten products posted double-digit volume growth during the first quarter, including cardiovascular drug Repatha, severe asthma treatment Tezspire and Blincyto, a therapy for a certain blood cancer.

Amgen also slightly lowered its full-year guidance from below on Thursday.

The company expects 2024 revenue of between $32.5 billion and $33.8 billion. That compares with previous guidance of between $32.4 billion and $33.8 billion.

Amgen expects full-year adjusted earnings of between $19 and $20.20 per share. That compares with previous guidance of between $18.90 and $20.30 per share.

Analysts surveyed by LSEG expect full-year revenue of $32.95 billion and adjusted earnings of $19.48 per share.