Amgen Response to USA Today Article on Restructuring

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (Aug. 6, 2014)

Today, USA Today published an article contributed by an investment advisor about Amgen's recent restructuring announcement, highlighting the contrast with our strong earnings report. We were disappointed to see that critical perspectives and facts were not included in the article, despite several attempts to explain why we chose to take these actions proactively and from a position of strength, to help ensure that Amgen can continue to deliver innovative medicines to our patients well into the future

We explained that Amgen's planned restructuring and reallocation of resources – rather than being reactions to short term compensation incentives - were natural steps in a long-term strategy that was laid out in 2011. Amgen's annual goals – which impact thousands of our staff worldwide – have been driven by our strategy and not the other way around.

In a business environment that offers both opportunities and challenges, it is vital for us to invest in our continuing innovation and the launch of our new pipeline medicines. The cost savings that result from our restructuring activity will be largely reallocated and invested in critical areas like cardiovascular disease, emerging oncology therapies, preparing for new product launches, future manufacturing platforms, biosimilars, and our move into new geographies.

Over the past year, teams from across Amgen have engaged in a coordinated effort to re-engineer our company for the future. These teams have not been focused on short-term goals, but on ensuring that we build exactly the right capabilities to deliver on our strategy and our long-term aspirations.

The article was particularly insensitive in characterizing Amgen's relationship with staff during a time of change. Our voluntary transition program significantly mitigates the impact of restructuring by offering alternatives to staff who wish to pursue other career or personal paths.

Each of our professionals deserves a balanced and factual description of the enterprise we have worked to build for some portion of three decades, even as the company proactively addresses significant challenges. Restructuring efforts like ours that result in workforce reduction are serious matters that need neither trivializing nor sensationalizing.