Submitted to the Editor - New York Times

January 28, 2013

To The Editor:

Paul Sullivan’s comment in the Jan. 25 New York Times stating that Amgen won “an exemption in the so-called fiscal cliff bill to extend its patent on a profitable dialysis drug for two more years at a great cost to Medicare” is yet another example of inaccurate and misleading reporting by the Times.

In fact, Amgen’s communication with Capitol Hill on this issue had nothing to do with patents or patent exclusivity, but on encouraging Congress to heed the cautions of the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to ensure quality health care for a chronically ill patient population. In this complex technical issue, the GAO cautioned Congress about actions that might restrict disproportionately-minority kidney dialysis patients from receiving the most appropriate medicines to treat their conditions. As a company, and on behalf of these patients, we emphatically agreed and continue to agree with the position of GAO and Congress.

Raymond C. Jordan
SVP, Corporate Affairs
Amgen