Amgen CEO Robert Bradway has declared that 2026 will be a “breakthrough year” for the California biotech giant, with growth in new products offsetting lost revenue from patent expirations and setting the company up for long-term prosperity.
In the first quarter, Amgen’s product with the biggest rebound from the springboard was Repatha, with sales of $876 million, up 34% year-over-year.
PCSK9 inhibitors are making progress as a treatment for the primary prevention of secondary and high-risk cardiovascular events.
Murd Gordon, Amgen’s chief commercial officer, said Repatha also has plenty of room to grow, citing new guidelines from the American College of Cardiology (ACC) and American Heart Association (AHA) that now support the early use of treatments such as Repatha to reduce low-density lipoprotein (LDL), or “bad” cholesterol.
“These guidelines have not yet reflected the practice-changing Vesalius-CV data, leaving a clear opportunity to further evolve clinical guidelines and quality measures,” Gordon said, referring to the “landmark” trial that demonstrated the benefits of using Repatha in people who have not had a stroke or heart attack.
Repatha’s performance helped overcome the steep decline of osteoporosis drug Prolia, which now faces biosimilar competition. First-quarter sales fell 34% to $727 million, missing consensus estimates by more than $100 million.
In Amgen’s growth portfolio, the same sign has an answer, as its severe osteoporosis drug Ivunity reduced sales by $562 million in the quarter, representing a 27% increase.
Other sources of growth for Amgen include the group’s rare disease medicines and innovative oncology medicines, which each grew by 25%. The company’s biosimilar sales also increased 14% in the first quarter.
Additional sales growth in the quarter included thyroid eye disease treatment Tepezza, which rose 29% to $490 million, and asthma treatment Tezspire, which was partnered with AstraZeneca, which rose 20% to $343 million.
Adding all this up, Amgen’s overall revenue increased 6% to $8.6 billion. As a result of the results, the company revised its 2026 sales forecast upward by $100 million, expecting sales to fall between $37.1 billion and $38.5 billion.
Regarding the controversial vasculitis drug Tabneos, which the FDA is proposing to remove from the market, Amgen said it has submitted a supplemental document to the regulator regarding the affected changes that would adjust the labeling of Tabneos, clarifying the potential for liver damage caused by the drug and specifying guidelines for discontinuing treatment.
Tavneos’ revenue also increased 32% to $119 million in the quarter, driven by 55% volume growth.
