THOUSAND OAKS, Calif., (December 16, 2008) – Amgen Inc. issued the following statement related to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee (ODAC) meeting held today in Gaithersburg, Maryland. The Advisory Committee was convened to discuss the KRAS gene as specific example of a predictive biomarker in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer treated with anti-epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFr) antibodies including Vectibix® (panitumumab).

“FDA convened the Advisory Committee today to discuss the KRAS gene as an example of a potential predictive biomarker in selecting patients for treatment with Vectibix or other anti-EGFr antibody therapies. At this meeting there was an important discussion on the level of evidence required to bring forth a predictive biomarker and make this type of information widely available to treating physicians and patients.

Biomarkers like KRAS deliver on the promise of personalized medicine for complex diseases like cancer. Amgen is committed to a robust biomarker program as part of our continuing development for Vectibix, as well as other pipeline molecules.

We are happy to have been provided the opportunity to participate in today’s discussions and look forward to our continued dialogue with FDA on how best to address both KRAS and future biomarker data in our clinical trials.”

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CONTACT: Amgen, Thousand Oaks
Christine Regan: 617-359-1324 or 805-447-5476 (media)
Arvind Sood: 805-447-1060 (investors)