Amgen Inc., the world's largest biotechnology company, gainedthe most in 17 months after the company said it's planning a $5billion share repurchase as part of a push to return profit tostockholders.

Amgen rose 5.9 percent Monday to $58.43 at the close in NewYork, the biggest single-day increase since June 2010. The sharesof the Thousand Oaks, California-based drugmaker have gained 6.4percent this year.

The modified Dutch auction, amounting to about 10 percent of thecompany, is part of a current $10 billion buyback program, Amgensaid in a regulatory filing today. The drugmaker will raise debt tohelp fund the program, part of a commitment to return at least 60percent of net income to investors, said Eric Schmidt, an analystwith Cowen & Co. in New York.

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