Analyst Sees Greater Vectibix Sales For Amgen

NEW YORK (AP) — Amgen Inc.'s shares rose Tuesday after an analyst upgraded the stock and said upcoming clinical trial results may boost sales of the cancer drug Vectibix.

Amgen is expected to report results from two late-stage trials of Vectibix, a colorectal cancer drug, by the end of September. Bernstein Research analyst Geoffrey Porges said he expects the results will show Vectibix is about as effective as a more popular drug, Erbitux, which could boost sales to more than $1 billion over the next few years.

That would give a valuable revenue boost to Amgen, which has seen its results struggle due to safety concerns surrounding its anemia drugs. Porges upgraded Amgen to "outperform" from "market perform," and raised his price target on the stock to $65 per share from $57.

In afternoon trading, shares of Thousand Oaks, Calif.-based Amgen rose $1.77, or 3.6 percent, to $51.21.

The trials will test Vectibix as a primary and secondary treatment for colorectal cancer. Currently, Amgen can only market the drug as a third-line treatment for the disease. Porges said positive trial results could lift Vectibix sales from $153 million last year to as much as $1.1 billion in 2015, which would be about half the market for colorectal cancer, in a split with Erbitux. He said Erbitux, which is sold by Eli Lilly and Co., Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., and Merck KGaA, has more favorable labeling and doctors believe it is more effective than Vectibix.