Third in a series on the blog looking at stories to watch during the coming months

In March 2006, Amgen said it would build an additional 550,000 square feet of office, laboratory and warehouse space at its 40-acre "Helix" campus on Elliott Bay. At the time, the company said the expansion could accommodate a doubling of its workforce there.

Amgen's Helix campus

A new parking lot was constructed, but other than that no construction took place. Instead, as I reported last October, the company put its expansion on hold as it struggled with slowing sales of its two principal products -- the anemia-fighting drugs Aranesp and Epogen. Via buyouts and layoffs, Amgen cut its workforce in the Seattle area by 130.

Now, though, things are shaping up for the company. "We believe (Amgen) has now largely worked through the (anemia drug) overhang," said Bret Holley, an analyst at Oppenheimer & Co., in a research report Monday.

Nplate, the company's treatment for Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, a rare bleeding disorder, was approved by the FDA a week ago. And a highly anticipated study showed that Denosumab, Amgen's osteoporosis drug, reduced the risk of fractures in women with postmenopausal osteoporosis. Analysts have said Denosumab could bring in almost a $1 billion in sales for Amgen by 2011 if the drug is approved.

So, a story to watch is how the slate of good news impacts Amgen's operations here, which employ more workers than any other biotech company in the region.

Amgen spokeswoman Carol Pawlak told me, "We continue to be selective about filling positions and yes, the expansion is still on indefinite hold."

We will see.