THOUSAND OAKS, Calif., March
23, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) and the
Amgen Foundation today announced an initial commitment of up to
$12.5 million to support U.S. and
global relief efforts to address critical needs in communities
impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The funds will be used to
support emergency response efforts in Amgen's U.S. and
international communities, patient-focused organizations that are
mounting their own response efforts, and international relief
efforts by Direct Relief and International Medical Corps. The
Amgen Foundation will also match donations made
by Amgen staff around the globe who wish to contribute
their own funds to the relief efforts.
"The COVID-19 pandemic is precipitating a series of
unprecedented challenges for people, governments and healthcare
systems around the globe. It is also a very local phenomenon
presenting an acute need to immediately support community measures
to slow the spread of the virus and help those directly impacted,"
said Robert A. Bradway, chairman and
chief executive officer at Amgen. "Our hope is that this
commitment will help organizations on the front lines address
urgent needs as we begin to better understand the longer-term needs
of our communities."
Free online learning programs supported by the Amgen Foundation
are also available to help students continue their science
education during school closures, including LabXchange™ and
Khan Academy's online learning website. Developed with the
Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University, LabXchange
is a free online science education platform that provides users
with access to personalized instruction, virtual lab experiences
and networking opportunities across the global scientific
community. Khan Academy has grown its biology offering,
with the Amgen Foundation's support, to more than 300
videos, 80 exercise sets and 195 articles.
About the Amgen Foundation
The Amgen
Foundation seeks to advance excellence in science education to
inspire the next generation of innovators and invest in
strengthening communities where Amgen staff members live
and work. To date, the Foundation has donated over $325
million to local, regional, and international non-profit
organizations that impact society in inspiring and innovative
ways. The Amgen Foundation brings the excitement of
discovery to the scientists of tomorrow through several signature
programs, including Amgen Scholars and the Amgen Biotech
Experience. For more information,
visit AmgenInspires.com and follow us on
Twitter @AmgenFoundation.
About Amgen
Amgen is committed to unlocking the
potential of biology for patients suffering from serious illnesses
by discovering, developing, manufacturing and delivering innovative
human therapeutics. This approach begins by using tools like
advanced human genetics to unravel the complexities of disease and
understand the fundamentals of human biology.
Amgen focuses on areas of high unmet medical need and leverages
its biologics manufacturing expertise to strive for solutions that
improve health outcomes and dramatically improve people's lives. A
biotechnology pioneer since 1980, Amgen has grown to be the world's
largest independent biotechnology company, has reached millions of
patients around the world and is developing a pipeline of medicines
with breakaway potential.
For more information, visit www.amgen.com and follow us on
www.twitter.com/amgen.
Amgen Forward-Looking Statements
This communication
contains forward-looking statements that are based on the current
expectations and beliefs of Amgen. All statements, other than
statements of historical fact, are statements that could be deemed
forward-looking statements, including any statements on the
outcome, benefits and synergies of collaborations with any other
company, including BeiGene, Ltd., or the Otezla®
(apremilast) acquisition, including anticipated Otezla sales growth
and the timing of non-GAAP EPS accretion, as well as estimates of
revenues, operating margins, capital expenditures, cash, other
financial metrics, expected legal, arbitration, political,
regulatory or clinical results or practices, customer and
prescriber patterns or practices, reimbursement activities and
outcomes, effects of pandemics or other widespread health problems
such as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic on our business, and other
such estimates and results. Forward-looking statements involve
significant risks and uncertainties, including those discussed
below and more fully described in the Securities and Exchange
Commission reports filed by Amgen, including our most recent annual
report on Form 10-K and any subsequent periodic reports on Form
10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K. Unless otherwise noted, Amgen
is providing this information as of the date of this news release
and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking
statements contained in this document as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise.
No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed and actual
results may differ materially from those we project. Our results
may be affected by our ability to successfully market both new and
existing products domestically and internationally, clinical and
regulatory developments involving current and future products,
sales growth of recently launched products, competition from other
products including biosimilars, difficulties or delays in
manufacturing our products and global economic conditions. In
addition, sales of our products are affected by pricing pressure,
political and public scrutiny and reimbursement policies imposed by
third-party payers, including governments, private insurance plans
and managed care providers and may be affected by regulatory,
clinical and guideline developments and domestic and international
trends toward managed care and healthcare cost containment.
Furthermore, our research, testing, pricing, marketing and other
operations are subject to extensive regulation by domestic and
foreign government regulatory authorities. We or others could
identify safety, side effects or manufacturing problems with our
products, including our devices, after they are on the market. Our
business may be impacted by government investigations, litigation
and product liability claims. In addition, our business may be
impacted by the adoption of new tax legislation or exposure to
additional tax liabilities. If we fail to meet the compliance
obligations in the corporate integrity agreement between us and the
U.S. government, we could become subject to significant sanctions.
Further, while we routinely obtain patents for our products and
technology, the protection offered by our patents and patent
applications may be challenged, invalidated or circumvented by our
competitors, or we may fail to prevail in present and future
intellectual property litigation. We perform a substantial amount
of our commercial manufacturing activities at a few key facilities,
including in Puerto Rico, and also
depend on third parties for a portion of our manufacturing
activities, and limits on supply may constrain sales of certain of
our current products and product candidate development. An outbreak
of disease or similar public health threat, such as COVID-19, and
the public and governmental effort to mitigate against the spread
of such disease, could have a significant adverse effect on the
supply of materials for our manufacturing activities, the
distribution of our products, the commercialization of our product
candidates, and our clinical trial operations, and any such events
may have a material adverse effect on our product sales, business
and results of operations. We rely on collaborations with third
parties for the development of some of our product candidates and
for the commercialization and sales of some of our commercial
products. In addition, we compete with other companies with respect
to many of our marketed products as well as for the discovery and
development of new products. Discovery or identification of new
product candidates or development of new indications for existing
products cannot be guaranteed and movement from concept to product
is uncertain; consequently, there can be no guarantee that any
particular product candidate or development of a new indication for
an existing product will be successful and become a commercial
product. Further, some raw materials, medical devices and component
parts for our products are supplied by sole third-party suppliers.
Certain of our distributors, customers and payers have substantial
purchasing leverage in their dealings with us. The discovery of
significant problems with a product similar to one of our products
that implicate an entire class of products could have a material
adverse effect on sales of the affected products and on our
business and results of operations. Our efforts to collaborate with
or acquire other companies, products or technology, and to
integrate the operations of companies or to support the products or
technology we have acquired, may not be successful. A breakdown,
cyberattack or information security breach could compromise the
confidentiality, integrity and availability of our systems and our
data. Our stock price is volatile and may be affected by a number
of events. Our business performance could affect or limit the
ability of our Board of Directors to declare a dividend or our
ability to pay a dividend or repurchase our common stock. We may
not be able to access the capital and credit markets on terms that
are favorable to us, or at all.
CONTACTS:
Amgen, Thousand Oaks
Megan Fox, 805-447-1423 (media)
Trish Rowland, 805-447-5631
(media)
Arvind Sood, 805-447-1060
(investors)
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SOURCE Amgen