SmartMoney sits down with Amgen Chief Executive Kevin Sharer for its March issue and finds a CEO with "a militant look," which isn't all that surprising given the business he's in. The Thousand Oaks-based biotech company is duking it out with both Johnson & Johnson and Roche over franchise products. There's pressure from Washington to reduce Medicare reimbursement - plus the usual pressure from Wall Street to keep cranking double-digit growth. "The development of biopharmaceutical drugs is the most difficult managerial job I've ever had," says Sharer. "Nothing is remotely close." Some highlights:

SM: Your anemia drugs Epogen and Aranesp, which make up half of Amgen's $12.4 billion in sales, are under some serious competitive attack.

KS: It's our biggest single market, but we have three other multibillion-dollar products.

SM: Okay, but in the meantime, Roche is expected to introduce its anemia drug Cera this year.

KS: We are suing for patent infringement to stop them. Roche introduced its product in Europe because Epogen was going off patent in Europe. Since they had it already, they decided to take a free shot at the U.S. market [where Amgen's Epogen patent remains]. My opinion is that they offer no innovation.

SM: Some very smart people are betting you're going to lose.

KS: It sounds like the same people who said we would lose the patent case in 2003. We did not. [In 2003 a federal appeals court ruled that Transkaryotic Therapies' Dynepo drug infringed on two Amgen patents.]

SM: Why not have your scientists make a wrinkle cream for a big payout?

KS: We find cures only for grievous illnesses. We won't make a drug for a toenail infection. Drug development is hard; you can't do everything. These illnesses present large, unmet needs. We aren't completely altruistic. But we do ask ourselves: What did you do that counts? It helps us attract good people.

SM: You have raised your research and development budget every year. This year you promise another double-digit advance. That sounds desperate.

KS: It's the opposite. There are so many promising areas where we want to invest -- Alzheimer's, Diabetes, Parkinson's.

SM: What's in your pipeline?

KS: Vectibix, for colorectal cancer, is just out. It has multibillion-dollar potential. The reception has been great. Also coming is Denosumab for osteoporosis and for cancer; key data will be available in 2008.

SM: Speaking of anemia, your stock sells at half the multiple of Genentech. Why?

KS: When I started, Amgen had a 70 price-to-earnings ratio, largely because Aranesp was new. Genentech has a big product right now -- Avastin [for lung and colorectal cancer]. We have some uncertainty.

SM: You're sounding unsure about the case against Roche.

KS: We are going to win. If we beat Roche and Denosumab is a success, Amgen is a very good value, and now is the time to buy. If you think something else, you buy someone else. I think as CEO if you're not betting your job, the company is not going to move ahead.

SM: Are you willing to bet your job right here and now?

KS: If Denosumab fails, if we can't defend against Roche and if J&J beats us -- I won't be in such good shape