A biosimilar of Amgen's (AMGN, Financial) Neulasta received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, giving the drug some competition.
The biosimilar in question is Fulphila, the trade name under which pegfilgrastim-jmbd – a white blood cell levels stimulator – will be commercialized soon.
Fulphila has been developed by Mylan N.V. (MYL, Financial) and Biocon. Like Amgen’s Neulasta, Fulphila is used as a treatment to prevent neutropenia, which is a lack of neutrophils in the blood due to chemotherapy. Neutrophils are a type of white blood cell that aid the organism in fighting against infection.
The market launch of the product will occur in the coming weeks.
As a result of the news, shares of Amgen closed 0.42% lower on Friday at $185.01. The stock is up 5% so far this year, however, with a market capitalization of $122.42 billion. The 52-week range is $162.69 to $201.23. Amgen is trading at 59.5 times its trailing 12-month net earnings per share, at 5.84 times its sales and at 7.9 times its book value per share.
Amgen has a forward annual dividend of $5.28 per share, granting a 2.85% yield. The industry has a median forward dividend yield of 1.09%.
Amgen's stock has a recommendation rating of 2.3 out of 5 and an average target price of $195.30 per share.
With a share price of $39, Mylan has fallen 10% so far this year. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.103 billion, a 52-week range of $29.39 to $47.82 per share, a price-book ratio of 1.52 times, a price-earnings of 29.11 times, a price-sales ratio of 1.76 times and a forward price-earnings ratio of 7.29 times.
Disclosure: I have no positions in any securities mentioned in this article.
