Amgen Raises Profile Of Oncology Therapeutics Unit
This article was originally published in The Pink Sheet Daily
Executive Summary
Newly promoted VP David Parkinson, MD, will oversee reconfigured oncology unit with separate supportive care and therapeutics groups.
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Amgen is creating separate supportive care and therapeutics groups as the biotech firm works to diversify its commercial oncology portfolio. The reorganization splits Amgen's Oncology Therapeutic Area into two groups with distinct leadership. Roy Baynes, formerly senior director of medical affairs-oncology, has been promoted to VP-Oncology/Supportive Care. David Chang, previously director of medical sciences, has been named senior director of the oncology therapeutics group. Both will report to newly promoted VP-Oncology Development & Commercialization David Parkinson. Formerly VP and head of Global Clinical Oncology, Parkinson will be charged with expanding Amgen's supportive care offerings and guiding the "strategic evolution" of its therapeutic pipeline, the firm said in an Aug. 4 release. Reporting to Exec VP-Research & Development Roger Perlmutter, Parkinson also will serve on Amgen's Pipeline Steering Committee. Parkinson's background features stints in industry, academia and government. Prior to joining Amgen in 2003, he oversaw Novartis' global translational development program. He has held academic positions at Tufts-New England Medical Center and the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center and has worked within the National Cancer Institute's Cancer Therapy Evaluation Program. He also served as a member of FDA's Biologics Evaluation Committee and co-chairs the standardization and infrastructure subcommittee of NCI's clinical trials working group. One of the drivers behind the reorganization appears to be Amgen's interest in building a revenue-producing therapeutics group. Amgen is the top oncology company in the U.S., although its business to date has consisted entirely of supportive care products such as the anemia therapy Aranesp (darbepoetin) and febrile neutropenia agents Neupogen (filgrastim) and Neulasta (pegfilgrastim). Early in the year, Amgen reported oncology sales of $4.2 bil. and a growth rate of 42% for the 12 months ended last October (1 (Also see "Amgen Kepivance Launch Under Way At Price Of $1,375 Per Dose" - Pink Sheet, 27 Jan, 2005.)). However, the company has forecast slower oncology growth for 2005, partly due to uncertainty in the Medicare Part B market caused by the shift to average sales price-based reimbursement on Jan. 1. Although the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' oncology "quality of care" demonstration project has offset some of the impact from the new payment system, Amgen's reliance on supportive care products could be seen as a long-term weakness. The firm's therapeutic pipeline currently has eight agents in clinical trials, including the anti-EGFR monoclonal antibody panitumumab for third-line treatment of colorectal cancer (Phase III) and the angiogenesis inhibitor AMG 706 (Phase II). Amgen plans to file a panitumumab application with FDA in the second half of the year (2 (Also see "Amgen To File Panitumumab In Second-Half 2005" - Pink Sheet, 29 Mar, 2005.)). - Karl Uhlendorf |