Dialysis guidelines affect Amgen, more or less

The National Kidney Foundation presented its long-awaited draft of the Dialysis Outcomes Quality Initiative (DOQI) guidelines for the treatment of kidney dialysis patients at its meeting in New Orleans. As proposed, the guidelines would have a mixed impact on usage of Amgen Inc.'s Epogen erythropoietin (EPO). Some proposed changes would lead to increased use, while others would cause usage to decline.

The proposed guidelines focus on three areas: hematocrit levels in patients on dialysis; iron levels; and subcutaneous versus intravenous administration of EPO. In addition, the guidelines recommend putting patients on dialysis sooner in order to decrease mortality...