Shares of biotechnology company Amgen Inc. rose Wednesday following a move by the U.S. Senate to pass a resolution requesting the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services reconsider a reimbursement decision on anemia drugs, Associated Press reports.
The stock rose $1.92, or 3.9 percent, to $53.32 in morning trading. Shares have traded between $48.30 and $77 over the last 52 weeks.
In July, Medicare issued a decision restricting reimbursement to low-dose levels of the drugs, which include Amgen’s Aranesp and Johnson & Johnson’s Procrit. They are part of a class of drugs called erythropoiesis-stimulating agents, or ESAs, and are aimed at treating anemia associated with chemotherapy in patients and in patients with kidney failure.
Aranesp was Amgen’s best-selling drug in 2006, with sales of about $4.12 billion. However, those sales have slipped because of a series of safety warnings. The drugs have been linked to potentially fatal side effects and regulators have required more label warnings and asked for additional studies.
