Amgen 2002 Annual Report Download - page 35

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AMGEN 2002 ANNUAL REPORT
Forward looking statements and factors that may
affect Amgen
This report and other documents we file with the Securities
and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) contain forward look-
ing statements that are based on current expectations,
estimates, forecasts and projections about us, our future
performance, our business or others on our behalf, our beliefs
and our management’s assumptions. In addition, we, or
others on our behalf, may make forward looking statements
in press releases or written statements, or in our commu-
nications and discussions with investors and analysts in
the normal course of business through meetings, webcasts,
phone calls, and conference calls. Words such as “expect,”
“anticipate,” “outlook,” “could,” “target,” “project,” “intend,”
“plan,” “believe,” “seek,” “estimate,” “should,” “may,”
“assume,” “continue”, variations of such words and similar
expressions are intended to identify such forward looking
statements. These statements are not guarantees of future
performance and involve certain risks, uncertainties, and
assumptions that are difficult to predict. We have based our
forward looking statements on our management’s beliefs and
assumptions based on information available to our man-
agement at the time the statements are made. We caution
you that actual outcomes and results may differ materially
from what is expressed, implied, or forecast by our forward
looking statements. Reference is made in particular to for-
ward looking statements regarding product sales, expenses,
earnings per share, liquidity and capital resources, and
trends. Except as required under the federal securities laws
and the rules and regulations of the SEC, we do not have
any intention or obligation to update publicly any forward
looking statements after the distribution of this report,
whether as a result of new information, future events,
changes in assumptions, or otherwise.
The following items are representative of the risks,
uncertainties and assumptions that could affect the out-
come of the forward looking statements.
Our sales depend on payment and reimbursement
from third-party payors, and a reduction in the
payment rate or reimbursement could result in
decreased use or sales of our products.
In both domestic and foreign markets, sales of our products
are dependent, in part, on the availability of reimburse-
ment from third-party payors such as state and federal gov-
ernments, under programs such as Medicare and Medicaid
in the United States, and private insurance plans. Medicare
does not cover prescriptions for ENBREL
®
. In certain foreign
markets, the pricing and profitability of our products gen-
erally are subject to government controls. In the United
States, there have been, and we expect there will continue
to be, a number of state and federal proposals that could limit
the amount that state or federal governments will pay to
reimburse the cost of drugs. In addition, we believe the
increasing emphasis on managed care in the United States
has and will continue to put pressure on the price and usage
of our products, which may adversely impact product sales.
Further, when a new therapeutic product is approved, the
availability of governmental and/or private reimbursement
for that product is uncertain, as is the amount for which that
product will be reimbursed. We cannot predict the avail-
ability or amount of reimbursement for our recently approved
products or product candidates, including those at a late stage
of development, and current reimbursement policies for
marketed products may change at any time; we believe that
sales of Aranesp
®
and Neulasta
™
are and will be affected by
government and private payor reimbursement policies.
Effective January 1, 2003, CMS instituted certain changes
to its payment system that included a rule setting a sig-
nificantly reduced reimbursement rate for Aranesp
®
for
Medicare patients in the hospital outpatient setting. While
we believe that this new rule is based on inaccurate infor-
mation, we cannot predict whether we will be successful in
correcting inaccuracies underlying this rule, or if such reim-
bursement changes for Aranesp
®
in this setting may impact
reimbursement in other settings, by other payors or for our
other products.
If reimbursement for our marketed products changes
adversely or if we fail to obtain adequate reimbursement for
our other current or future products, health care providers
may limit how much or under what circumstances they
will administer them, which could reduce the use of our
products or cause us to reduce the price of our products. This
could result in lower product sales or revenues which could
have a material adverse effect on us and our results of oper-
ations. For example, in the United States the use of EPOGEN
®
in connection with treatment for end stage renal disease is
funded primarily by the U.S. federal government. In early