By Deena Beasley

(Reuters) -Amgen Inc on Thursday reported lower first-quarter profit as expenses rose and a 2% increase in sales of its own drugs was offset by lower revenue from its deal to manufacture COVID-19 antibody treatments for Eli Lilly and Co.

Amgen reported revenue of $6.11 billion for the quarter, down 2% from a year earlier, but close to analysts’ estimates of $6.17 billion, according to Refinitiv data.

Product sales by volume grew 14% from a year earlier, but net selling prices fell 5%, while foreign exchange rates and other factors also limited sales revenue gains, Amgen said.

Adjusted earnings per share decreased to $3.98 from $4.25 a year ago, but came in ahead of analysts’ forecast of $3.85.

Amgen is seeing prescription trends return to prepandemic levels and “demand for medicines is resilient despite current macroeconomic challenges,” Amgen Chief Executive Robert Bradway said on a conference call with investors.

Amgen shares, which rose by less than 1% in regular trading, were down 2.3% at $234.83 after hours.

The company said first-quarter sales of cholesterol drug Repatha rose 18% from a year earlier to a record $388 million, while sales of migraine drug Aimovig fell 32%, driven by lower prices.

Sales of psoriasis drug Otezla fell 13% and arthritis drug Enbrel saw sales drop 33%, both due in part to lower net selling prices, Amgen said.

“Misses in core assets like Enbrel fail to provide confidence needed when commercial launches are faltering,” BMO Capital Markets analyst Evan Seigerman said in a research note.

Operating expenses for the quarter increased 6%, research and development costs rose 12% and Amgen said its tax rate rose 5.6 percentage points, primarily due to a Puerto Rico tax law change.

The California-based biotechnology company slightly increased its forecast for full-year 2023 revenue to range of $26.2 billion to $27.3 billion, from the previous view of $26 billion to $27.2 billion, excluding the impact of its pending acquisition of Horizon Therapeutics Plc.

Analysts estimate $26.7 billion in revenue for the full year.

Amgen said it still expects the Horizon deal to close by the end of June.

“The Horizon deal is still a focus to get back to growth and offset headwinds on older products,” Jefferies analyst Michael Yee said in a note.

In December, Amgen agreed to buy Horizon for $27.8 billion, fortifying its rare diseases portfolio with the access to blockbuster thyroid eye disease treatment Tepezza.

(Reporting By Deena BeasleyEditing by Bill Berkrot)

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