To read the online version of the report, click here:

The Amgen Foundation, the company’s philanthropic arm, continues to strengthen Amgen engagement in the community by supporting programs that advance science education, improve patient care and support vital community resources.

The 2006 Amgen Foundation Charitable Contributions Report, now available in print and online, tells the stories of a few of this year’s approximately 125 grantees and how they are making a positive difference in people’s lives.

“In 2006, the Amgen Foundation invested more than $17 million and committed millions more to the development of key partnerships,” noted Foundation President Jean Lim in a message published in the report. “This lays the groundwork for far-reaching programs in science education and healthcare that combine our corporate knowledge and experience with external expertise.”

This includes programs such as Amgen Scholars, a $25-million, eight-year program which provides hands-on research experiences to undergraduate students through an intensive summer research program. Partnering with 10 prestigious universities, the Amgen Scholars will be immersed in research directed by some of the country’s top academic scientists. The program hopes to inspire students to pursue further studies and even a career in science.

The Amgen-Bruce Wallace Biotechnology Laboratory Program offers equipment, supplies, training and curricula to high schools and community colleges to provide a hands-on, industry-based science experience -- with the same materials that biologists use. This program, introduced in 1990, was named in memory of Bruce Wallace, one of Amgen’s first staff members. Currently the Bruce Wallace program has been implemented in schools in California and Washington and has been approved in Colorado, with plans to expand to other U.S. locations where Amgen has a presence. The reach of this program has been extraordinary -- with more than 100,000 students exposed to the fundamentals of biotechnology.

“Partners in D” is a pioneering program focused on educating and mobilizing pharmacy students to work with underserved seniors in community settings and in pharmacies. Created by pharmacy students and faculty at the University of California, San Francisco, the program aims to aid the millions of seniors who are struggling to understand the new Medicare Part D and match the plan’s many options with their unique needs.

Iniciativa Tecnologica Centro-Oriental (INTECO), a nonprofit corporation promotes economic development in the East Central Region of Puerto Rico. Through a grant from the Amgen Foundation, INTECO is able to support several youth programs at their Technology Innovation Centers. One such program is the Smart Teens program, which aims to get high school students interested in science and technology.

The report also highlights the newly enhanced Amgen Staff Volunteer Program (ASVP). Long an informal but powerful network at Amgen’s Thousand Oaks campus, in late 2006 the program was rolled out to sites across the U.S. and Puerto Rico. ASVP makes the time and talent donated by Amgen staff members more valuable through Volunteer Service Grants. Staff members who devote 15 hours of volunteer work to eligible nonprofits can earn a $500 donation, called a Volunteer Service Grant, through the Amgen Foundation to that organization.