Jason Chew It is tempting to believe that once Lorcaserin has been approved, it will be used off-label in combination with phentermine to create a safe and efficacious version of Fen-Phen, the once popular diet drug. This is not to be the case. Some history:Fenfluramine, the “Fen” in Fen-Phen, a potent agonist of 5-HT2B receptors, […]
Fail Early, Fail Fast- A Recipe For Failure
Jason Chew The mantra for big Pharma is to fail early and fail fast in preclinical studies, then push compounds out as quickly as possible into first-in-human testing, and gather as much information as possible to determine if it is likely to succeed before putting it into expensive Phase III trials. It sounds good, but […]
Celgene- On An Acquisition Spree
Jason Chew During the last decade, Celgene has been one of the best performing stocks. With a market cap in the year 2000 of just $2.4 billion, it has grown to become the third largest biotech company behind Amgen and Gilead, sporting a $22.9 billion market cap; however, that is down from its recent high […]
George Scangos Named Biogen Idec’s CEO- Not Entirely a Head Scratcher
Jason Chew June 30, 2010- Geoge Scangos from Exelixis was officially named CEO of Biogen, replacing James Mullen who retired June 8 under pressure from the board. He has biologics experience from Bayer and has been an R&D head. However, he is probably best known as a dealmaker. At Bayer he drove a large in-licensing […]
Calistoga Pharmaceuticals and Plexxikon- Two Biotechs to Keep an Eye On
Jason Chew Calistoga and Plexxikon are on the leading edge of two of the hottest targets in drug development today. Both are privately held. Seattle based Calistoga Pharmaceuticals was founded when Icos was acquired by Eli Lilly for its Erectile Dysfunction drug, Cialis. Former scientists acquired IP from the company in 2007 that formed the basis […]
Bristol-Myers Squibb- High Dividend, Zero Growth
Jason Chew With a 5% dividend, Bristol-Myers Squibb provides one the highest yields you can find. This makes BMY a very attractive stock for income investors, especially considering today’s near-zero interest rate environment. There are however, a couple hiccups for investors to be aware of- Bristol is set to lose patent protection on its best-selling […]
Anthera Pharmaceuticals- IPO, What’s Next?
Jason Chew After the 2000 bubble and crash, the biotech IPO has finally begun to crack open a bit. First, Ironwood tested the waters in February with the largest IPO in two years. Anthera soon followed March 4, raising just $37.1 million after cutting its IPO price from the $13-$15 range to just $7. An […]
Cubist vs. Hatch-Waxman
In 2003, Cubist was granted approval for its novel antibiotic, Cubicin, for complicated skin and skin structure infections by Gram-positive bacteria, including drug-resistant strains. Over the next couple years, the stock doubled from about $10 to $20. The stock has languished in the $20 trading range for nearly five years now. There have been some […]
Targacept- Ready to Take Off
Jason Chew Targacept is a company focused on CNS diseases and disorders, targeting Neuronal Nicotinic Receptors (NNRs). As a company spun off from R.J Reynolds and still located in Winston-Salem, it knows a thing or two about this subject. NNRs are ion channels that open in response to the binding of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine allowing […]
Curis Drug GDC-0449 Fails Colorectal Trial
Jason Chew Curis released results today for its hedghog pathway inhibitor GDC-0449 in a pivotal Phase II colorectal trial run by Roche. The company said its drug failed to extend the time of disease progression or death in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer. Curis stock plunged from yesterday’s close of $3.26 to $1.69, a 48% drop. This […]
Ariad is Set For Success
Jason Chew For years, much of Ariad’s value had been tied to its mTOR inhibitor, Ridaforolimus. Ridaforolimus is an orally bio-available analog of Rapamycin- an immunosuppresent discovered decades ago- the “R” in mTOR. Thus far, there are two other analogs, or Rapalogs, as they are called, approved in oncology indications ahead of Ridaforolimus, the first-to-market […]
Genomic Health- Possible Takeover Candidate
Jason Chew Genomic Health is a pure-play oncology in-vitro diagnostics company with approved products and a pipeline to drive future growth. It fits in well with the growing importance of personalized medicine in the pharmaceutical industry. Personalized medicine is comprised of two parts- the drug, and the diagnostic, a combination sometimes referred to as Dx/Rx. […]
Celldex Sets it Straight at ASCO
After Celldex’s flubbed pre-ASCO abstract release led investor to question interim Phase II data for its cancer vaccine CDX-110 (PF-04948568), also with the generic name Rindopepimut, they made sure to get things straight at ASCO. As a reminder, the abstract stated 70% of patients on drug were alive and progression free at 5.5 months. This […]
Vivus Has a Hit in Qnexa
Obesity has a high prevalence in the US and is now frequently cited as being a national health issue. It is on the rise in almost every industrialized and some industrializing nations. There are currently no blockbuster weight loss drugs due to lack of efficacy, though many have failed due to unwanted side effects. Some […]
Alexion Pharmaceuticals- Poster Child for Ultra-orphan Treatments
Alexion got some good news today, receiving earlier than expected approval for its drug, Soliris (eculizumab), for the treatment of PNH in Japan- the world’s second largest pharmaceuticals market. Having received approval from the FDA and the European Commission only in 2007, Soliris has rocketed to expected 2010 sales of over $500 Million. It has […]
Roche- Leading the Way in Personalized Medicine
(Featured in TheBigRedBiotechBlog) This Swiss pharma is the third largest pharmaceutical company both by revenue and market cap. It is one of the fastest growing companies in its peer group, with sales growth of 7% in 2009. This compares to approximately 4% YoY growth for Pfizer, Sanofi-Aventis, and Johnson & Johnson. With the purchase of […]
Next Generation Antibody Technologies- Seattle Genetics Leads the Way
Next Generation Antibody Technologies- Seattle Genetics Leads the Way Monoclonal Antibody Technology has revolutionized medicine. Since 1986, more than 20 Antibody drugs have been approved, with sales of $26 Billion in 2007 and expected to nearly double to $49 Billion by 2013. Sales are highly concentrated, with the top five drugs- Avastin, Rituxin Herceptin, Humira, […]
Incyte Pharmaceuticals: JAK it Up
Incyte Pharmaceuticals: JAK it Up Incyte Pharmaceuticals has one of the most promising pipelines in the small to mid-cap space. It has two very promising compounds in development, INCB18424 for the treatment of Myelofibrosis (MF), a disease classified under the Myeloproliferative disorders (MPD) family, and other oncology indications, and INCB28050 for the treatment of Rheumatoid […]
Biotech’s One-Trick Pony
The One-Trick Pony We’ve heard this many times- never bet on that one-trick pony. Risky bet. You’ll lose your shirt. So what does this one-trick pony thing look like? What should we be looking out for? Where do we find this three-horned beast? But seriously, what defines a biotech as a one-trick pony? Here I […]
The Promise Behind Celldex- ASCO 2010
The Promise Behind Celldex Celldex shares climbed steadily in the months leading up to the release of its ASCO abstracts, rising from $4.71 at the start of the year and hitting a high of $9.43 on May 18. Shares 9% the day the abstracts were released on May 21, closing at $6.97. Share prices have […]
