Poor Amgen!
 

[Really--amgen spent 19% on R and D last year? and that's way too much?????]

The Disconnect Continues: Amgen Rethinks R&D

By Ed Silverman // October 13th, 2011 // 9:08 am
Taking a page from the big pharma playbook, Amgen is planning to reorganize its R&D operations. And sources says the biotech plans to cut a chunk of the budget and may place less emphasis on discovery. Such a move would mimic what many big drugmakers have been doing in recent years as they attempt to lower their costs and seek the next big-selling molecule elsewhere.
... Amgen, by the way, employs a total of 17,000 people worldwide.


...Cutting R&D would make Wall Street happy. Amgen notched $15.1 billion in revenue during its last fiscal year and spent $2.9 billion, or about 19 percent, on R&D. “The $3 billion R&D line item annually is high and investors see room to start to trim this,” ...

...Ironically, the R&D changes come after the Amgen board has been widely criticized for being too generous with ceo Kevin Sharer. Earlier this year, the board appeased investors by finally offering a dividend, but also hiked his overall compensation from $15 million to $21 million...

http://www.pharmalot.com/2011/10/the...n-rethinks-rd/

The old cash cow
she ain't what she used to be.

Too many of the really lucrative diseases have already been claimed by competitors. There's more money in cosmetics these days. Lipstick. Wrinkle cream.
And designer dog food - a different mixture for every type of dog. Big bucks are in cosmetics and pets.