Contingencies and commitments	6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2015
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]
Contingencies and commitments	Contingencies and commitments Contingencies In the ordinary course of business, we are involved in various legal proceedings and other matters—including those discussed in this Note—that are complex in nature and have outcomes that are difficult to predict. See Note 18, Contingencies and commitments, to our consolidated financial statements in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014, and Note 12, Contingencies and commitments, to our condensed consolidated financial statements in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended March 31, 2015, for further discussion of certain of our legal proceedings and other matters. We record accruals for loss contingencies to the extent that we conclude that it is probable that a liability has been incurred and the amount of the related loss can be reasonably estimated. We evaluate, on a quarterly basis, developments in legal proceedings and other matters that could cause an increase or decrease in the amount of the liability that has been accrued previously. Our legal proceedings range from cases brought by a single plaintiff to class actions with thousands of putative class members. These legal proceedings, as well as other matters, involve various aspects of our business and a variety of claims—including but not limited to patent infringement, marketing, pricing and trade practices and securities law—some of which present novel factual allegations and/or unique legal theories. In each of the matters described in this filing or in Note 18, Contingencies and commitments, to our consolidated financial statements in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014, or in Note 12, Contingencies and commitments, to our condensed consolidated financial statements in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended March 31, 2015, plaintiffs seek an award of a not-yet-quantified amount of damages or an amount that is not material. In addition, a number of the matters pending against us are at very early stages of the legal process (which in complex proceedings of the sort faced by us often extend for several years). As a result, none of the matters described in this filing have progressed sufficiently through discovery and/or development of important factual information and legal issues to enable us to estimate a range of possible loss, if any, or such amounts are not material. While it is not possible to accurately predict or determine the eventual outcomes of these items, an adverse determination in one or more of these items currently pending could have a material adverse effect on our consolidated results of operations, financial position or cash flows. Certain recent developments concerning our legal proceedings and other matters are discussed below: Sandoz Filgrastim Litigation On May 5, 2015, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (the Federal Circuit Court) entered an injunction prohibiting Sandoz Inc. (Sandoz) from marketing, selling, offering for sale, or importing into the United States Sandoz’s FDA-approved Zarxio^™ biosimilar product until the Federal Circuit Court resolves the appeal. On July 21, 2015, the Federal Circuit Court affirmed the district court’s dismissal of Amgen’s state law claims of unfair competition and conversion and directed the district court to enter judgment on Sandoz’s counter-claims consistent with the Federal Circuit’s interpretation of the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act. The Federal Circuit Court concluded that the only remedies available for a biosimilar applicant’s failure to provide its BLA by the statutory deadline is to bring a patent infringement claim and seek those patent remedies provided by the statute. The court also concluded that a biosimilar applicant must give 180-day advance notice of first commercial marketing after the FDA has licensed the biosimilar product. Accordingly, the Federal Circuit Court entered an order that its previously entered injunction be extended through September 2, 2015 (180 days from Sandoz’s notice given after FDA approval) and remanded for the district court to consider the patent infringement claim and counterclaims. ERISA Litigation On May 26, 2015, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit denied Amgen’s petition for rehearing en banc in this Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) class action case, and on June 9, 2015 that court granted Amgen’s motion to stay the issuance of the court’s mandate pending Amgen’s filing of a petition for certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court, such petition presently due on August 24, 2015.

Contingencies and commitments

Contingencies

In the ordinary course of business, we are involved in various legal proceedings and other matters—including those discussed in this Note—that are complex in nature and have outcomes that are difficult to predict. See Note 18, Contingencies and commitments, to our consolidated financial statements in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014, and Note 12, Contingencies and commitments, to our condensed consolidated financial statements in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended March 31, 2015, for further discussion of certain of our legal proceedings and other matters.

We record accruals for loss contingencies to the extent that we conclude that it is probable that a liability has been incurred and the amount of the related loss can be reasonably estimated. We evaluate, on a quarterly basis, developments in legal proceedings and other matters that could cause an increase or decrease in the amount of the liability that has been accrued previously.

Our legal proceedings range from cases brought by a single plaintiff to class actions with thousands of putative class members. These legal proceedings, as well as other matters, involve various aspects of our business and a variety of claims—including but not limited to patent infringement, marketing, pricing and trade practices and securities law—some of which present novel factual allegations and/or unique legal theories. In each of the matters described in this filing or in Note 18, Contingencies and commitments, to our consolidated financial statements in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014, or in Note 12, Contingencies and commitments, to our condensed consolidated financial statements in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended March 31, 2015, plaintiffs seek an award of a not-yet-quantified amount of damages or an amount that is not material. In addition, a number of the matters pending against us are at very early stages of the legal process (which in complex proceedings of the sort faced by us often extend for several years). As a result, none of the matters described in this filing have progressed sufficiently through discovery and/or development of important factual information and legal issues to enable us to estimate a range of possible loss, if any, or such amounts are not material. While it is not possible to accurately predict or determine the eventual outcomes of these items, an adverse determination in one or more of these items currently pending could have a material adverse effect on our consolidated results of operations, financial position or cash flows.

Certain recent developments concerning our legal proceedings and other matters are discussed below:

Sandoz Filgrastim Litigation

On May 5, 2015, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (the Federal Circuit Court) entered an injunction prohibiting Sandoz Inc. (Sandoz) from marketing, selling, offering for sale, or importing into the United States Sandoz’s FDA-approved Zarxio^™ biosimilar product until the Federal Circuit Court resolves the appeal. On July 21, 2015, the Federal Circuit Court affirmed the district court’s dismissal of Amgen’s state law claims of unfair competition and conversion and directed the district court to enter judgment on Sandoz’s counter-claims consistent with the Federal Circuit’s interpretation of the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act. The Federal Circuit Court concluded that the only remedies available for a biosimilar applicant’s failure to provide its BLA by the statutory deadline is to bring a patent infringement claim and seek those patent remedies provided by the statute. The court also concluded that a biosimilar applicant must give 180-day advance notice of first commercial marketing after the FDA has licensed the biosimilar product. Accordingly, the Federal Circuit Court entered an order that its previously entered injunction be extended through September 2, 2015 (180 days from Sandoz’s notice given after FDA approval) and remanded for the district court to consider the patent infringement claim and counterclaims.

ERISA Litigation

On May 26, 2015, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit denied Amgen’s petition for rehearing en banc in this Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) class action case, and on June 9, 2015 that court granted Amgen’s motion to stay the issuance of the court’s mandate pending Amgen’s filing of a petition for certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court, such petition presently due on August 24, 2015.