NEW YORK (AP) — Amgen Inc. Chairman and Chief Executive Kevin Sharer’s compensation rose 4 percent to just under $13.8 million in 2008 as the company’s stock recovered from safety issues over its anemia drugs while Wall Street focused on a potential blockbuster osteoporosis treatment. Sharer earned $1,561,923 in salary and $3,875,000 in performance bonuses during the year, both marking boosts from 2007, according to a proxy statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Meanwhile, other compensation fell 41 percent to $530,697 as the company cut costs. The compensation consisted mostly of $181,275 for use of the company jet and $285,000 in retirement compensation. The bulk of his compensation, which is stock options, fell 16 percent to $7,812,869. The Associated Press’ compensation formula is designed to isolate the value the company’s board placed on the executive’s total compensation package during the last fiscal year. It includes salary, bonus, performance-related bonuses, perks, above-market returns on deferred compensation and the estimated value of stock options and awards granted during the year. The calculations don’t include changes in the present value of pension benefits, and they sometimes differ from the totals companies list in the summary compensation table of proxy statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which reflect the size of the accounting charge taken for the executive’s compensation in the previous fiscal year. Thousand Oaks, Calif.-based Amgen saw its stock price rise about 24 percent in 2008 as it rolled out a steady beat of positive clinical trial data on denosumab, which is now under Food and Drug Administration review. The drug is aimed at treating osteoporosis and Wall Street is considering it the company’s next blockbuster opportunity. The positive announcements follow a year of concerns over the company’s anemia drugs Aranesp and Epogen. Sales of the products have fallen in the wake of stricter safety warnings. Also in 2008, the company’s profit jumped 32 percent to $4.2 billion on a 20 percent boost in revenue, to $15 billion.
