*

Adjusted EPS $4.90 vs LSEG estimate of $4.30

*

Revenue of $8.1 billion in line with Wall Street estimates

*

2025 outlook reaffirmed

(Recasts to include tariff comment; adds company comment

paragraph 3, background paragraphs 4-6; updates share price)

By Deena Beasley

May 1 (Reuters) - Amgen ( AMGN ) on Thursday said its

first-quarter profit rose 24%, driven by product sales, and said

that while it is premature to speculate on the impact of U.S.

tariffs, tax policy would be a more effective way to influence

U.S. manufacturing.

President Donald Trump's administration has opened a

national security investigation into pharmaceuticals in a bid to

demonstrate why the U.S. needs tariffs to increase domestic

manufacturing.

"We agree with our peers that the most effective answer

is not tariffs, but tax policy," Amgen CFO Peter Griffith said

on a conference call.

Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ ) CEO

Joaquin Duato

last month said tariffs on pharmaceuticals can create

supply chain disruptions and favorable tax policies would be a

more effective tool to boost U.S. manufacturing capacity of both

drugs and medical devices.

Pharmaceutical companies in recent decades moved

production capacity outside of the U.S., including to European

Union countries like Ireland, in part because of lower

income-tax rates for intellectual property.

Amgen ( AMGN ) recently announced a

$900 million expansion

of its Ohio biotech manufacturing facility, joining a

number of other drugmakers, including Eli Lilly ( LLY ), Merck ( MRK )

and J&J, pledging to increase U.S. plant capacity.

For the first quarter, Amgen ( AMGN ) reported adjusted earnings

per share of $4.90, beating the average analyst estimate of

$4.30, as compiled by LSEG. Revenue rose 9% to $8.1 billion,

which was in line with Wall Street estimates.

Shares of the biotechnology company, which fell more than 2%

in regular trading, were up about 1% at $286 after hours.

For the full year, Amgen ( AMGN ) said it still expects adjusted

earnings per share of $20.00 to $21.20 on revenue of $34.3

billion to $35.7 billion. Analysts, on average, have estimated

earnings of $20.63 per share on revenue of $35.1 billion.

Amgen ( AMGN ) said its 2025 outlook includes the impact of

implemented tariffs, but does not account for any future levies,

including potential sector-specific tariffs.

The company is slated to present at a medical meeting next

month full results from a mid-stage trial of its experimental

weight-loss drug MariTide, viewed by many investors as a

potential blockbuster.

Amgen ( AMGN ) is conducting late-stage trials of the drug in

patients with and without diabetes, and results from a Phase 2

diabetes trial will be announced later this year.

The company also said the U.S. Food and Drug

Administration has lifted its clinical hold on an early-stage

trial of a different experimental weight-loss drug known as AMG

513.

The first-quarter results "suggest momentum for established

products, but uncertainty is apparent in the newer growth

portfolio, both of which highlight the importance of obesity as

a future driver for shares," Citi Research analyst Geoff Meacham

said in a note to clients.

Amgen's ( AMGN ) sales of bone drug Prolia rose 10% to $1.1 billion,

but the company said it expects lower sales of the medication

later in the year as biosimilar competitors are launched.

Sales of cholesterol-lowering medication Repatha rose 27% to

$656 million, while sales of arthritis drug Enbrel fell 10% to

$567 million.

In the rare disease space, sales of thyroid eye disease drug

Tepezza fell 10% to $381 million, and sales of gout treatment

Krystexxa were flat at $236 million. Both were acquired with

Amgen's ( AMGN ) 2023 purchase of Horizon Therapeutics.

Sales of rare disease drug Uplinza rose 14% to $91 million.

Amgen ( AMGN ) said the FDA has accepted its application seeking approval

of Uplinza as a treatment for myasthenia gravis, with a decision

due by December 14.