AMGEN INC
For the period ended Dec 31, 2025. Filed Feb 13, 2026.
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FY2025 · Filed Feb 13, 2026
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Government Regulation
Regulation by government authorities in the United States and other countries is a significant factor in the production and marketing of our products and our ongoing R&D activities. To clinically test, manufacture and market products for therapeutic use, we must satisfy mandatory procedures and safety and effectiveness standards established by various regulatory bodies. Compliance with these standards is complex, and failure to comply with any of these standards can result in significant implications. See Item 1A. Risk Factors for a discussion of factors, including global regulatory implications, that can adversely impact our development and marketing of commercial products.
Regulation in the United States
In the United States, the Public Health Service Act; the FDCA; and the regulations promulgated thereunder as well as other federal and state statutes and regulations govern, among other things, the production, research, development, testing, manufacture, quality control, labeling, storage, record keeping, approval, advertising, promotion and distribution of our products in addition to the reporting of certain payments and other transfers of value to healthcare professionals and teaching hospitals.
Clinical Development and Product Approval. Drug development in our industry is complex, challenging and risky, and failure rates are high. Product development cycles are typically very long—approximately 10 to 15 years from discovery to market. A potential new medicine must undergo many years of preclinical and clinical testing to establish its safety and efficacy for use in humans at appropriate dosing levels and with an acceptable risk–benefit profile. We continue to work toward reducing cycle times by applying our expertise in human genetics and innovation in technology, clinical trials and real-world evidence. See Research and Development and Selected Product Candidates section below.
After laboratory analysis and preclinical testing in animals, we file an IND with the FDA to begin human testing. Typically, we undertake an FDA-designated three-phase human clinical testing program.
In Phase 1, we conduct small clinical trials to investigate the safety and proper dose ranges of our product candidates in a small number of human subjects.
In Phase 2, we conduct clinical trials to investigate side-effect profiles and the efficacy of our product candidates in a patient population larger than Phase 1 but still relatively small, who have the disease or condition under study.
In Phase 3, we conduct clinical trials to investigate the short- and long-term safety and efficacy of our product candidates, compared to commonly used treatments, in a large number of patients who have the disease or condition under study.
The FDA monitors the progress of each trial conducted under an IND and may, at its discretion, reevaluate, alter, suspend or terminate the testing based on data accumulated to that point and the FDA’s risk–benefit assessment with regard to the patients enrolled in the trial. The results of preclinical and clinical trials are submitted to the FDA in the form of either a BLA for biologic products or a New Drug Application for small molecule products. We are not permitted to market or promote a new product until the FDA has approved our marketing application.
Approval of Biosimilars. The Affordable Care Act authorized the FDA to approve biosimilars via a separate, abbreviated pathway. The pathway allows sponsors of a biosimilar to seek and obtain regulatory approval based in part on the nonclinical-trial and clinical-trial data of an originator product to which the biosimilar has been demonstrated to be “highly similar” and to have no clinically meaningful differences with regard to safety, purity and potency. The relevance of demonstrating “similarity” is that in many cases, biosimilars can be brought to market without conducting the full suite of clinical trials typically required of originators, because risk–benefit has previously been established. To preserve incentives for future innovation, the law establishes a period of exclusivity for originators’ products, which in general prohibits biosimilars from gaining FDA approval based in part on reliance on or reference to the originator’s data in their application to the FDA for 12 years after initial FDA approval of the originator product. The law does not change the duration of patents granted on biologic products. As part of the implementation of the abbreviated approval pathway for biosimilars, the FDA released a number of guidance documents, some of which remain in draft form. See Item 1A. Risk Factors—We currently face competition from biosimilars and generics and expect to face increasing competition from biosimilars and generics in the future.
Regulation of Product Marketing and Promotion. The FDA regulates the marketing and promotion of drug products. Our product promotions for approved product indications must comply with the statutory standards of the FDCA and the FDA’s implemented regulations and guidance. The FDA’s review of marketing and promotional activities encompasses but is not limited to direct-to-patient advertising, healthcare-provider-directed advertising and promotion, sales representative communications to healthcare professionals, promotional programming and promotional activities involving electronic media. The FDA may also review industry-sponsored scientific and educational activities that make representations regarding product safety or efficacy in a promotional context. The FDA may take enforcement action against a company for violations of the FDA’s advertising and labeling laws and regulations. Enforcement action may include product seizures, injunctions, civil or criminal penalties or regulatory letters, which may require corrective advertising or other corrective communications to healthcare professionals. Failure to comply with the FDA’s regulations also can result in adverse publicity or increased scrutiny of company activities by the U.S. Congress or other legislators. Additionally, as described below, such failure may lead to additional liability under U.S. healthcare fraud and abuse laws.
Regulation of Manufacturing Standards. The FDA regulates and inspects the equipment, facilities, laboratories and processes used in the manufacturing and testing of products prior to granting approval to market products. If, after receiving approval from the FDA, we make a material change in manufacturing equipment, location or process, additional regulatory review may be required. We also must adhere to current Good Manufacturing Practice regulations and product-specific regulations enforced by the FDA through its facilities inspection program. The FDA conducts regular, periodic visits to reinspect our equipment, facilities, laboratories and processes following an initial approval.
Regulation of Combination Products. Combination products are defined by the FDA as products composed of two or more regulated components (e.g., a biologic and/or drug and a device). Biologics/drugs and devices each have their own regulatory requirements, and combination products may have additional requirements. A number of our marketed products meet this definition and are regulated under this framework, and we expect that a number of our pipeline product candidates will be evaluated for regulatory approval under this framework as well.
Regulation of Orphan Medicines. Orphan drugs are defined by the FDA as products intended to treat a rare disease or condition that affects less than 200,000 persons in the United States. A company must request orphan drug designation prior to filing, and if the product is ultimately approved for the designated rare disease or condition, it may qualify for seven years of orphan drug exclusivity during which the FDA will not approve another sponsor’s marketing application for the same drug for the same indication. Orphan drug exclusivity will not bar approval of another medicine for the same indication if it is shown to be clinically superior. In the United States, a number of our products, including products such as BLINCYTO and UPLIZNA, have orphan drug exclusivity under this framework for specific indications.
Regulation Outside the United States
In EU countries as well as in the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Canada, Australia and Japan, regulatory requirements and approval processes are similar in principle to those in the United States.
In the EU, there are currently two potential tracks for seeking marketing approval for a product not authorized in any EU member state: a decentralized procedure and a centralized procedure. In thedecentralized procedure, identical applications for marketing authorization are submitted simultaneously to the national regulatory agencies. Regulatory review is led by one member state (the reference-member state), and its assessment—based on safety, quality and efficacy—is reviewed and approved (assuming there are no concerns that the product poses a serious risk to public health) by the other member states from which the applicant is seeking approval (the concerned-member states). The decentralized procedure leads to a series of single national approvals in all relevant countries. In thecentralized procedure, which is required of all products derived from biotechnology, a company submits a single MAA to the EMA, which conducts an evaluation of the dossier, drawing upon its scientific resources across Europe. If the drug product is proven to fulfill requirements for quality, safety and efficacy, the EMA’s CHMP adopts a positive opinion, which is transmitted to the EC for final decision on granting of the marketing authorization. Even though the EC generally follows the CHMP’s opinion, it is not bound to do so. Subsequent commercialization is enabled by country-by-country reimbursement approval.
In the EU, biosimilars are approved under a specialized pathway of the centralized procedure. As with the U.S. pathway, an applicant seeks and obtains regulatory approval for a biosimilar once the data exclusivity period for the original reference product has expired, relying, in part, on the data submitted for the originator product together with data evidencing that the biosimilar is “highly similar” with regard to quality, safety and efficacy to the original reference product authorized in the European Economic Area. See Item 1A. Risk Factors—We currently face competition from biosimilars and generics and expect to face increasing competition from biosimilars and generics in the future.
In the EU, Regulation (EC) No 141/2000, as implemented by Regulation (EC) No. 847/2000, provides that a medicine can be designated as an orphan medicinal product by the EC if its sponsor can establish that: (i) the product is intended for the diagnosis, prevention or treatment of life-threatening or chronically debilitating conditions; (ii) either (a) such conditions affect not more than 5 in 10,000 persons in the EU when the application is made, or (b) the product without the benefits derived from orphan status, would not generate sufficient return in the EU to justify the necessary investment in developing the medicinal product; and (iii) there exists no satisfactory authorized method of diagnosis, prevention, or treatment of the condition that has been authorized in the EU, or even if such method exists, the product will be of significant benefit to those affected by that condition. An application for the designation of a medicinal product as an orphan medicinal product may be submitted at any stage of development of the medicinal product but before the filing of an MAA. A marketing authorization for an orphan medicinal product may only include indications designated as orphan. For non-orphan indications treated with the same active pharmaceutical ingredient, a separate marketing authorization has to be sought. Approved orphan drugs in the EU receive 10 years of market exclusivity for the approved indication in all EU member states. We currently have orphan medicinal product designation for BLINCYTO in the EU and may seek medicinal product designation for a number of our products in the future.
Other countries such as those in Latin America and the Middle East have review processes and data requirements similar to those of the EU and in some cases can rely on prior marketing approval from U.S. or EU regulatory authorities. The regulatory process in these countries may include manufacturing/testing facility inspections, testing of drug product upon importation and other domestic requirements.
In Asia Pacific, a number of countries such as China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan may require local clinical-trial data for bridging purposes as part of the drug registration process in addition to global clinical trials, which can add to overall drug development and registration timelines. In many Asian markets, registration timelines may be influenced by prior marketing approvals in reference jurisdictions (e.g. the United States or the EU). In some markets in Asia, such as China, Indonesia and Thailand, regulatory timelines can be more variable. The regulatory process may also include manufacturing/testing facility inspections, testing of drug product upon importation and other domestic requirements. Countries such as Australia and Japan have more mature regulatory systems which may allow for submissions under comparatively more predictable time frames. With regard to biosimilars, several of these countries have pathways to register biosimilars (e.g., Australia, India, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan), and biosimilar products in market (e.g., Australia, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan).
In some countries, such as Japan and those in the EU, medical devices may be subject to regulatory regimes whereby manufacturers must establish that their medical devices conform to essential requirements set out in the law for the particular device category. For example, in the EU, with limited exceptions, medical devices placed on the market must bear the Conformité Européenne marking to indicate their conformity with legal requirements.
Post-approval Phase
After approval, we continue to monitor adverse events and product complaints reported following the use of our products through routine postmarketing surveillance and studies when applicable. We report such events to the appropriate regulatory agencies as required by local regulations for individual cases and aggregate reports. We proactively monitor (according to good pharmacovigilance practices) and ensure the implementation of signal detection, assessment and the communication of adverse events that may be associated with the use of our products. We also proactively monitor product complaints through our quality systems, which includes assessing our drug delivery devices for device complaints, adverse events and malfunctions. We may also be required by regulatory agencies to conduct further clinical trials on our marketed products as a condition of their approval or to provide additional information on safety and efficacy. Health regulators, including the FDA, have authority to mandate labeling changes to products at any point based on new safety information or as part of an evolving label change to a particular class of products.
Health regulators, including the FDA, also have authority both before and after approval to require that a company implement a risk management program for a product to ensure that the benefits of the drug outweigh the risks. Each risk management program is unique and varies depending on the specific factors required. In the United States, such a risk management program is known as a REMS, and we currently have REMSs for Prolia, Nplate and BLINCYTO.
Other Regulation
We are also subject to various laws pertaining to healthcare fraud and abuse, including antikickback laws and false-claims laws. Antikickback laws make it illegal to solicit, offer, receive or pay any remuneration in exchange for or to induce the referral of business, including the purchase or prescribing of a particular drug that is reimbursed by a state or federal program. False-claims laws prohibit knowingly and willingly presenting, or causing to be presented, for payment to third-party payers (including Medicare and Medicaid) any claims for reimbursed drugs or services that are false or fraudulent, claims for items or services not provided as claimed, or claims for medically unnecessary items or services. Violations of fraud and abuse laws may be punishable by criminal and/or civil sanctions, including fines and civil monetary penalties, as well as by the possibility of exclusion from federal healthcare programs (including Medicare and Medicaid). Liability under false-claims laws may also arise when violation of certain laws or regulations related to the underlying product (e.g., a violation regarding improper promotional activity or unlawful payments) contributes to the submission of a false claim. See Item 1A. Risk Factors—Our business may be affected by litigation and government investigations.
The FCPA prohibits U.S. corporations and their representatives from offering, promising, authorizing or making payments to any foreign government official, government staff member, political party or political candidate in an attempt to obtain or retain business abroad. The scope of the FCPA arguably includes interactions with certain healthcare professionals in many countries. Other countries have enacted similar anticorruption laws and/or regulations. Failure by our employees, agents, contractors, vendors, licensees, partners or collaborators to comply with the FCPA and other anticorruption laws and/or regulations could result in significant civil or criminal penalties.
We are subject to various laws and regulations globally with regard to privacy and data protection. These laws and regulations involve the collection, storage, handling, use, disclosure, transfer and security of personal data. The legislative and regulatory environments regarding privacy and data protection are continually evolving and developing because these issues are subjects of increasing amounts of attention in countries globally. For example, we are subject to the EU’s GDPR, which became effective on May 25, 2018; the CCPA, which became effective on January 1, 2020; the California Privacy Rights Act of 2020, which amended the CCPA and became effective on January 1, 2023; and China’s Personal Information Protection Law, which became effective on November 1, 2021. Other jurisdictions where we operate have enacted or proposed similar legislation and/or regulations, such as consumer privacy laws that went into effect in Virginia, Colorado, Utah, Connecticut and Florida in 2023 and Oregon, Texas and Montana in 2024. Consumer privacy laws were also passed in other states, including Iowa, Delaware, New Hampshire, Nebraska, New Jersey, Tennessee, Minnesota, Maryland, Indiana, Kentucky and Rhode Island, and became effective or are scheduled to become effective in 2025 through 2026. In April 2023, a new type of state privacy law focused on protection of consumer health data emerged in Washington with the enactment of the My Health My Data Act, with similar legislation passed subsequently in Nevada. Both these new consumer health privacy laws became effective on March 31, 2024. Further, in 2024, the EU Artificial Intelligence (AI) Act, formally known as Regulation (EU) 2024/1689, was passed into law. Certain provisions of this regulation, such as transparency obligations and governance structures, became effective in February and August 2025, and the regulation will become fully effective on August 2, 2026. The regulation establishes a risk-based framework governing the development, deployment and use of AI systems across the EU. High-risk AI systems are subject to stringent requirements such as mandatory risk assessments, technical documentation, bias mitigation and explainability standards. Non-compliance with these current and future laws could result in significant penalties.
Our business has been and will continue to be subject to various other U.S. and foreign laws, rules and regulations, including provisions of the IRA and OB3. See Reimbursement section above.
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