One notable discovery from Amgen's Genomics Program has been Osteoprotogerin, or OPG , a protein that inhibits the absorption of bone. Transgenic mice overexpressing the OPG gene and normal mice injected with recombinant OPG protein have both demonstrated increased bone density over control mice. OPG shows considerable promise in preventing the development of osteoporosis in in vivo animal studies, and its discovery has turned out to be a seminal event in the area of bone research. Genomics also provides growing support to the Neuroscience and Cancer groups in identifying genes that encode for proteins, which are not themselves therapeutically useful, but may serve as targets for the development of small molecule drugs. The success of Amgen's research and development program in hematopoiesis has led to our commitment to the development of a comprehensive oncology research program aimed at the discovery and development of novel cancer therapeutics.
Cancer is a disease of unregulated growth of the body's own cells.
This unregulated growth or division arises as a result of mutations in the genetic material of the cancerous cell. Amgen's approach to cancer biology lies in our ability to identify, characterize and target novel alterations in genes which provides our scientists with information that guides the discovery and development of potential therapeutics. These genes often provide tumor cells with specific properties to enable them to escape normal growth circumventing normal cell death. Amgen is focused on several of these properties, properties which are common to many different types of cancer. Our Oncology research program is closely linked to our broader expertise in Genomics .