Hematide To Pose Threat to AMGN's Base Business From Late 2011

Yaron Werber of Citi maintained his "buy" rating on Amgen Inc (NASDAQ: AMGN). The target price for AMGN is set to $64.00.

According to Citi, the market has overlooked competition to Amgen’s Epogen and Aranesp from Hematide. Citi expects this drug to pose threat to AMGN's base business from late 2011. According to Citi, Affymax may price Hematide at roughly 25% discount in order to capture share in the dialysis and pre-dialysis markets. Hematide has an edge over Epogen/Aranesp in terms of pricing and dosing, CIti said.

According to CIti, every 5% loss in Epogen sales in the dialysis sector in 2012 due to Hematide may lead to a $0.08 reduction in Amgen's EPS for the year. Similarly, every 10%-20% decline in Aranesp sales in pre-dialysis/dialysis will reduce AMGN's EPS by $0.01/$0.03, Citi added.