THOUSAND OAKS, Calif., Oct. 8, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) today announced its Phase 3 study evaluating efficacy and safety of biosimilar candidate ABP 501 compared with Humira^® (adalimumab) in patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis met its primary endpoint. The primary endpoint was the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) percent improvement from baseline to week 16 of treatment. At week 16, the PASI percent improvement from baseline was within the prespecified equivalence margin for ABP 501 compared to adalimumab. Safety and immunogenicity of ABP 501 were comparable to adalimumab. This is the first of two Phase 3 studies intended to form the basis for global regulatory submissions for ABP 501.

ABP 501 is being developed as a biosimilar to adalimumab, an anti-TNF-α  monoclonal antibody, which is approved in many countries for the treatment of inflammatory diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis, plaque psoriasis (PsO), polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.

"Results from Amgen's biosimilar Phase 3 plaque psoriasis study met the primary endpoint for efficacy and showed comparable safety and immunogenicity to adalimumab, which further demonstrates the Company's commitment to provide patients with access to high-quality medicines," said Sean E. Harper, M.D., executive vice president of Research and Development at Amgen. "We look forward to continuing to leverage our experience and expertise in biotechnology to bring biosimilars to patients."

Amgen has six biosimilar molecules in development and expects to launch the portfolio starting in 2017.

Study Design
This randomized, double-blind, active-controlled study (study number 20120263) evaluated safety and efficacy of ABP 501 compared to adalimumab in adult patients with moderate-to-severe plaque PsO. There were 350 patients enrolled and initially randomized. Among them, there were 174 patients in the ABP 501 group and 173 patients in the adalimumab group treated. One patient in the ABP 501 group and two patients in the adalimumab group were randomized but did not receive any investigational product. The primary endpoint, PASI percent improvement, was evaluated at week 16. The PASI is a measure of the average redness (erythema), thickness (induration), and scaliness (scaling; each graded on a 0-4 scale) of the lesions, weighted by the area of involvement. All assessments for a given patient were made by the same observer whenever possible.

At week 16, patients with a PASI 50 or above response will remain on study for up to 52 weeks. Patients continuing on study beyond week 16 were re-randomized in a blinded fashion such that all patients initially randomized to ABP 501 continued to receive ABP 501 and those on adalimumab either continued on adalimumab or switched to ABP 501 in a 1:1 fashion.  Patients will continue on treatment until week 48, when the patients will receive the last dose of investigational product. The final efficacy assessments will be conducted at week 50 and the study will end at week 52.

About Psoriasis
Psoriasis is a non-contagious chronic disease in which the immune system causes skin cells to grow at an accelerated rate.¹ Instead of being shed, skin cells pile up, causing painful and itchy, red, scaly patches.² Approximately 125 million people worldwide have psoriasis, and 80 percent of those patients have plaque psoriasis.^3,4

About ABP 501
ABP 501 is being developed as a biosimilar candidate for adalimumab, an anti-TNF-α monoclonal antibody which is approved in many regions for the treatment of several inflammatory diseases. The active ingredient of ABP 501 is an anti-TNF-α monoclonal antibody which has the same amino acid sequence as adalimumab. ABP 501 has the same pharmaceutical dosage form and strength as adalimumab (U.S.) and adalimumab (EU).

About Amgen Biosimilars
Amgen Biosimilars is committed to building upon Amgen's experience in the development and manufacturing of innovative human therapeutics to expand Amgen's reach to patients suffering from serious illnesses. Biosimilars offer the potential to increase patient access to vital medicines, and Amgen is well positioned to leverage its more than 30 years of experience in biotechnology to create high-quality biosimilars and reliably supply them to patients worldwide.

About Amgen
Amgen is committed to unlocking the potential of biology for patients suffering from serious illnesses by discovering, developing, manufacturing and delivering innovative human therapeutics. This approach begins by using tools like advanced human genetics to unravel the complexities of disease and understand the fundamentals of human biology.

Amgen focuses on areas of high unmet medical need and leverages its biologics manufacturing expertise to strive for solutions that improve health outcomes and dramatically improve people's lives. A biotechnology pioneer since 1980, Amgen has grown to be the world's largest independent biotechnology company, has reached millions of patients around the world and is developing a pipeline of medicines with breakaway potential.

For more information, visit www.amgen.com and follow us on www.twitter.com/amgen.

Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains forward-looking statements that are based on the current expectations and beliefs of Amgen Inc. and its subsidiaries (Amgen, we or us) and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements, including estimates of revenues, operating margins, capital expenditures, cash, other financial metrics, expected legal, arbitration, political, regulatory or clinical results or practices, customer and prescriber patterns or practices, reimbursement activities and outcomes and other such estimates and results. Forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties, including those discussed below and more fully described in the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reports filed by Amgen Inc., including Amgen Inc.'s most recent annual report on Form 10-K and any subsequent periodic reports on Form 10-Q and Form 8-K. Please refer to Amgen Inc.'s most recent Forms 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K for additional information on the uncertainties and risk factors related to our business. Unless otherwise noted, Amgen is providing this information as of Oct. 8, 2014, and expressly disclaims any duty to update information contained in this news release.

No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed and actual results may differ materially from those we project. Discovery or identification of new product candidates or development of new indications for existing products cannot be guaranteed and movement from concept to product is uncertain; consequently, there can be no guarantee that any particular product candidate or development of a new indication for an existing product will be successful and become a commercial product. Further, preclinical results do not guarantee safe and effective performance of product candidates in humans. The complexity of the human body cannot be perfectly, or sometimes, even adequately modeled by computer or cell culture systems or animal models. The length of time that it takes for us and our partners to complete clinical trials and obtain regulatory approval for product marketing has in the past varied and we expect similar variability in the future. We develop product candidates internally and through licensing collaborations, partnerships and joint ventures. Product candidates that are derived from relationships may be subject to disputes between the parties or may prove to be not as effective or as safe as we may have believed at the time of entering into such relationship. Also, we or others could identify safety, side effects or manufacturing problems with our products after they are on the market. Our business may be impacted by government investigations, litigation and product liability claims. If we fail to meet the compliance obligations in the corporate integrity agreement between us and the U.S. government, we could become subject to significant sanctions. We depend on third parties for a significant portion of our manufacturing capacity for the supply of certain of our current and future products and limits on supply may constrain sales of certain of our current products and product candidate development.

In addition, sales of our products (including products of our wholly-owned subsidiaries) are affected by the reimbursement policies imposed by third-party payers, including governments, private insurance plans and managed care providers and may be affected by regulatory, clinical and guideline developments and domestic and international trends toward managed care and healthcare cost containment as well as U.S. legislation affecting pharmaceutical pricing and reimbursement. Government and others' regulations and reimbursement policies may affect the development, usage and pricing of our products. In addition, we compete with other companies with respect to some of our marketed products as well as for the discovery and development of new products. We believe that some of our newer products, product candidates or new indications for existing products, may face competition when and as they are approved and marketed. Our products may compete against products that have lower prices, established reimbursement, superior performance, are easier to administer, or that are otherwise competitive with our products. In addition, while we and our partners routinely obtain patents for our and their products and technology, the protection of our products offered by patents and patent applications may be challenged, invalidated or circumvented by our or our partners' competitors and there can be no guarantee of our or our partners' ability to obtain or maintain patent protection for our products or product candidates. We cannot guarantee that we will be able to produce commercially successful products or maintain the commercial success of our existing products. Our stock price may be affected by actual or perceived market opportunity, competitive position, and success or failure of our products or product candidates. Further, the discovery of significant problems with a product similar to one of our products that implicate an entire class of products could have a material adverse effect on sales of the affected products and on our business and results of operations. Our efforts to integrate the operations of companies we have acquired may not be successful. Cost savings initiatives may result in us incurring impairment or other related charges on our assets.  We may experience difficulties, delays or unexpected costs and not achieve anticipated benefits and savings from our recently announced restructuring plans.  Our business performance could affect or limit the ability of our Board of Directors to declare a dividend or our ability to pay a dividend or repurchase common stock.

The scientific information discussed in this news release related to our product candidates is preliminary and investigative.  Such product candidates are not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and no conclusions can or should be drawn regarding the safety or effectiveness of the product candidates.

CONTACT: Amgen, Thousand Oaks
Kelley Davenport, 202-585-9637 (media)
Arvind Sood, 805-447-1060 (investors)

References:
1. National Psoriasis Foundation. Frequently Asked Questions. http://www.psoriasis.org/about-psoriasis/faqs. Last updated 2014. Accessed on September 10, 2014.
2. Medline Plus Encyclopedia. Psoriasis. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000434.htm. Last updated 10/18/2014. Accessed on September 10, 2014.
3. International Federation of Psoriasis Associations. Psoriasis is a Serious Disease Deserving Global Attention: A report by the International Federation of Psoriasis Associations. www.ifpa-pso.org/getfile.ashx?cid=279366&cc=3&refid=18. Accessed on September 10, 2014.
4. American Academy of Dermatology. Psoriasis. http://www.aad.org/media-resources/stats-and-facts/conditions/psoriasis. Last updated 2014. Accessed on September 10, 2014.

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SOURCE Amgen