Amgen’s Approach to Responsible Pricing

Amgen understands that the cost of prescription drugs is a concern for many people, and we are committed to the responsible pricing of our medicines.

Our approach to pricing across the globe is underpinned by two simple core principles:

  1. Pricing our products according to the value they deliver
  2. Employs flexible pricing approaches to ensure patient access
Our Prices Take Multiple Factors Into Consideration, Including:

PRINCIPLE 1:

Pricing our products according to the value they deliver

Benefits to Patients and Society

  • Enabling patients to live longer, better lives with their disease or condition than is currently possible (e.g. such as fewer symptoms, improved ability to function in daily activities)
  • Reduced physical and emotional burden for the family, loved ones, and caregivers of patients

Benefits to the Healthcare System

  • Shorter and fewer hospitalizations (for example, protecting against infection associated with strong chemotherapy)  
  • Fewer medical procedures (for example, need for bypass surgery or stent placement following a heart attack or stroke)
  • Less long-term care needs (for example, as a result of preventing hip fractures associated with osteoporosis)  
  • Decreased constraints on healthcare provider capacity (for example, improved at-home administration options, reduced chair-time, or intensive care unit stays)

Benefits to the Economy

  • Enabling patients to be more active and productive – at home and at work (for example, by reducing the number of migraines that prohibit someone from doing their work or pursuing the activities they love)
  • Ability to address diseases that pose a significant burden on the whole population and economy, such as cardiovascular disease

PRINCIPLE 2:

Employs flexible pricing approaches to ensure patient access

Needs of Patients and Local Health Systems

  • A tailored approach to pricing that balances a country’s ability to pay for a medicine and the individual needs of patients
  • Leverage digital capabilities, along with our advanced customer data and analytics, to help optimize investment and predict customer response to field and remote engagement. Establishing sophisticated value and access capabilities, particularly for growth and launch products, has allowed us to have access established in closer proximity to regulatory approval.

General Market Dynamics

  • Price of available comparator products or procedures in combination with the extent of the benefit Amgen’s treatment offers above and beyond current standard of care

While governments and health insurers are the providers of health care coverage, we offer financial assistance to qualified patients who need support in affording their medicines. We also offer programs to limit out of pocket spending on medications and support compassionate use and expanded access to our investigational therapies for patients across the globe.

The sale of our medicines provides us with the investment required to fund future research and development to address serious, unmet medical need to improve upon the impact that some diseases have on society and our ability to live long, healthy lives. Over the past five years, we invested nearly $20 billion* in R&D, resulting in the approval of four novel first in class medicines, an innovative portfolio where approximately three-quarters of our clinical stage assets have first in class potential, in addition to delivering high quality and reliably supplied biosimilars.

 

*This is a non-GAAP financial measure. 2017-2021 Amgen Inc. Full Year Financial Results.