Thursday May 10, 6:59 am Eastern Time

TORRANCE, Calif., May 10 (Reuters) - DaVita Inc. (NYSE:DVA), an operator of dialysis centers, said Thursday it has received notice that Amgen Inc. (NasdaqNM: AMGN) has increased the wholesaler acquisition price for Epogen, a drug used to treat kidney dialysis patients for anemia, by 3.9 percent effective May 9.

This pricing increase will not affect DaVita in 2001 as it has pricing protection in its existing contract. DaVita is not changing the 2001 or 2002 earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) guidance provided in its Q1 earnings conference call, the company said.

An Amgen representative was not immediately reachable for comment.

Shares of DaVita closed Wednesday at $20.12, Amgen closed at $60.96 per share.