Amgen announced it raked in $6.9 billion this quarter – a 4 percent increase over last year – during their earnings report today. While they make billions, Americans pay exorbitantly high prices for prescription drugs. Amgen opposes the Biden administration reforms that lower prescription drug prices.
- During the call, CEO Robert A. Bradway bragged: “We are excited about our pipeline progress and our operating performance in the third quarter.”
- Amgen announced it rewarded shareholders by paying a dividend in September at a rate 10% higher than the previous year.
- Enbrel, Amgen’s blockbuster immunosuppressant drug that was selected among the first ten drugs to have lower prices negotiated by Medicare, brought in more than $1 billion in sales this quarter.
- Amgen is part of PhRMA, which is suing the Biden administration to stop Medicare from negotiating lower drug prices for patients because it would endanger their massive profits.
- In Q3, Amgen also completed its acquisition of Horizon Therapeutics, a drug manufacturer specializing in rare disease drugs. Drug companies erroneously claim Medicare negotiation will threaten investment in drugs for rare diseases, but Amgen is betting a rare drug portfolio will be good for their bottom line; Amgen paid $27.8 billion for Horizon.
- Drug companies charge Americans prices up to four times higher than prices in other countries, forcing patients to cut pills and skip doses to make ends meet.
- Over 80 percent of voters support giving Medicare the power to negotiate, making it the most popular provision in the Inflation Reduction Act.
The Inflation Reduction Act brings down prescription drug costs for everyday Americans, especially seniors, by capping the price of insulin at $35 per month and providing free vaccines including shingles, giving Medicare the power to negotiate lower drug prices, and limiting the amount people have to pay each year for prescription drugs to $2,000 annually starting in 2025.
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