Rivals Laying Siege to Amgen’s Near Monopoly in Anemia Drugs

For years, the biotechnology giant Amgen has wielded a near monopoly over its industry’s most lucrative franchise, the anemia drugs on which hundreds of thousands of American kidney and cancer patients and their insurers spend billions of dollars each year. But now, Amgen’s money machine is coming under attack.

A host of companies – ranging from the Swiss giant Roche to Silicon Valley start-ups – are developing anemia drugs to compete against Epogen and Aranesp, the blockbusters that will account for nearly half of Amgen’s expected $12 billion in revenues this year.

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