HONG KONG, Aug. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Amgen, one of the world's leading biotechnology companies, has officially launched its new commercial office in Hong Kong in order to make its innovative medicines available to patients suffering from serious illnesses in the region.
Amgen's entry into Hong Kong and Macau will enhance the exchange of scientific ideas, foster more research collaborations and bring innovative therapies for grievous illnesses to local patients. For Amgen, it is an important step in the Company's global expansion efforts. The Company's Japan Asia Pacific (JAPAC) regional headquarters are also based at its One Island East offices, Taikoo Place, Hong Kong.
Amgen strives to serve patients by transforming the promise of science and biotechnology into therapies that have the power to restore health or save lives. The Company is focused on delivering its portfolio of approved medicines and its robust, late-stage pipeline of potential new innovative and biosimilar medicines to patients around the world.
"In 2007, Amgen opened a clinical development hub in Hong Kong with fewer than ten people. Today, we are delighted to launch our Hong Kong/Macau commercial office. We expect to employ more than 80 people by the end of the year in Hong Kong, serving patients locally and in the rest of the JAPAC region," said Penny Wan, regional vice president and general manager of Amgen's JAPAC region.
Amgen's initial priorities in Hong Kong and Macau will include:
The company has recently appointed Eric Ng as general manager of the Amgen South East Asia, Hong Kong and India region, and KK Tong as country director of the Amgen Hong Kong. Both of them have more than 20 years' experience in the healthcare and pharmaceutical industry across broad geographies and business areas.
"We're very pleased to have established this commercial office in Hong Kong and we look forward to growing our team here," said KK Tong. "As a biotechnology pioneer, we hope to help the advancement and growth of the biotechnology community in Hong Kong and Macau."
Amgen recently reacquired rights to three of its innovative medicines in 48 markets around the world, and is now the market authorization holder for Prolia® (denosumab), XGEVA® (denosumab), Vectibix® (panitumumab), Neulastim® (pegfilgrastim), and Neupogen® (filgrastim) in Hong Kong/Macau. Additionally, Amgen has received approval for Repatha® (evolocumab) from the Hong Kong Department of Health.
A worldwide leader in biologics manufacturing, Amgen has an outstanding track record of delivering high-quality medicines to patients who need them. The Company is headquartered in Thousand Oaks, Calif., is focused on expanding in the Asia Pacific region, and today has operations in more than 100 markets around the world, including Australia/New Zealand, mainland China, Hong Kong/Macau, India, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand.
About Amgen
Amgen is committed to unlocking the potential of biology for patients suffering from serious illnesses by discovering, developing, manufacturing and delivering innovative human therapeutics. This approach begins by using tools like advanced human genetics to unravel the complexities of disease and understand the fundamentals of human biology.
Amgen focuses on areas of high unmet medical need and leverages its expertise to strive for solutions that improve health outcomes and dramatically improve people's lives. A biotechnology pioneer since 1980, Amgen has grown to be one of the world's leading independent biotechnology companies, has reached millions of patients around the world and is developing a pipeline of medicines with breakaway potential.
For more information, visit www.amgen.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains forward-looking statements that involve significant risks and uncertainties, including those discussed below and others that can be found in our Form 10-K for the year ended Dec. 31, 2015, and in any subsequent periodic reports on Form 10-Q and Form 8-K. Amgen is providing this information as of the date of this news release and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this document as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed and actual results may differ materially from those we project. The Company's results may be affected by our ability to successfully market both new and existing products domestically and internationally, clinical and regulatory developments (domestic or foreign) involving current and future products, sales growth of recently launched products, competition from other products (domestic or foreign), and difficulties or delays in manufacturing our products. In addition, sales of our products are affected by reimbursement policies imposed by third-party payers, including governments, private insurance plans and managed care providers and may be affected by regulatory, clinical and guideline developments and domestic and international trends toward managed care and healthcare cost containment as well as U.S. legislation affecting pharmaceutical pricing and reimbursement. Government and others' regulations and reimbursement policies may affect the development, usage and pricing of our products. Furthermore, our research, testing, pricing, marketing and other operations are subject to extensive regulation by domestic and foreign government regulatory authorities. We or others could identify safety, side effects or manufacturing problems with our products after they are on the market. Our business may be impacted by government investigations, litigation and product liability claims. If we fail to meet the compliance obligations in the corporate integrity agreement between us and the U.S. government, we could become subject to significant sanctions. Further, while we routinely obtain patents for our products and technology, the protection offered by our patents and patent applications may be challenged, invalidated or circumvented by our competitors. We depend on third parties for a significant portion of our manufacturing capacity for the supply of certain of our current and future products and limits on supply may constrain sales of certain of our current products and product candidate development. In addition, we compete with other companies with respect to some of our marketed products as well as for the discovery and development of new products. Discovery or identification of new product candidates cannot be guaranteed and movement from concept to product is uncertain; consequently, there can be no guarantee that any particular product candidate will be successful and become a commercial product. Further, some raw materials, medical devices and component parts for our products are supplied by sole third-party suppliers. Our business performance could affect or limit the ability of our Board of Directors to declare a dividend or our ability to pay a dividend or repurchase our common stock.
Media contact
Edelman Hong Kong at AmgenHK@edelman.com / +852 2804 1338
or Mary Klem at mklem@amgen.com (English language inquiries only)