The biotech industry can be volatile even for relatively large companies. Amgen (AMGN 1.00%)one of the more prominent names in the game, reminded us all of that fact. On November 26, the company’s share fell by as much as 12%. Unsurprisingly, the decline was due to clinical results that the market listed as “not good enough”.

But if Amgen can bounce back, now could be a great time for investors to scoop up their shares. Let’s find out what the future holds for Amgen after its massive one-day decline.

Amgen’s weight loss candidate “flops”

Amgen is working on a potential anti-obesity drug candidate called MariTide. Like many other biotechs, the company is looking to get into this therapeutic area, which happens to be the hottest in the industry right now. Companies like Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk making a fortune on their respective weight loss drugs. Newer ones must prove to be just as effective if not more, or have some other differentiating factor to make significant waves in the market.

Unfortunately, Amgen’s MariTide did not show greater efficacy than Eli Lily’s tirzepatide in a phase 2 study. The biotech reported that MariTide showed up to 20% average weight loss in overweight or obese candidates after 52 weeks of treatment with no observed weight loss plateau.

That’s not bad, but strangely, Amgen didn’t publish data comparing MariTide’s performance to the placebo group. In a phase 3 study, Eli Lilly’s tirzepatide showed up to 22.5% weight loss after 72 weeks, compared to an average of 2.4% in the placebo group. MariTide has not gone up against tirzepatid in a head-to-head clinical trial, so these comparisons are not perfect. However, the evidence to date does not support MariTides being more effective than tirzepatid.

Is Amgen stock a buy?

There were some positives from MariTide’s Phase 2 data. The drug is administered monthly (or less frequently) compared to the weekly regimen of tirzepatide; some patients may be willing to go for the monthly dosage if it is somewhat comparable in effect to that given weekly. Furthermore, MariTide’s study was 52 weeks, and no plateau was observed, meaning that after 72 weeks, the average weight loss may be even more impressive.

In my opinion, MariTide is still in the hunt to be a notable player in the rising weight loss market, although the data Amgen released – and the omission of the placebo-adjusted average weight loss – was a little disappointing.

But Amgen is not just a weight loss game. The company’s product line currently includes many drugs that generate over $1 billion a year. Amgen’s financial performance remains strong. In the third quarter, revenue grew 23% year over year to $8.5 billion.

Even excluding the acquisition of Horizon Therapeutics in October 2023, Amgen’s sales were up 8% year over year. Several of the company’s drugs could earn label extensions. That includes Tezspire, an asthma treatment that recently reported positive Phase 3 data in the treatment of chronic rhinosinusitis (inflamed sinuses). Amgen is also looking to make waves in the biosimilar market.

The company recently announced that it would launch Pavblu in the US, the first biosimilar for Regeneronpp blockbuster Eylea, which treats an eye disease called wet age-related macular degeneration. Amgen and Regeneron are still engaged in a legal battle over patent infringement, but the former has made it a point to develop cheaper biosimilar drugs.

Finally, Amgen is an excellent income stockafter increasing its annual dividend per share by 249% over the past decade. Amgen still has a long pipeline and will continue to develop newer products. MariTide still looks a little promising. That’s why I think the sale was a bit of an overreaction. Interested investors should strongly consider buying Amgen stock now.