Jason Chew(Featured in TheBigRedBiotechBlog, digitalpathologyinsights) Historically, the Big Pharma business model has been that of a fully integrated pharmaceutical company, complete with basic research and development, clinical trials, sales and marketing, focused on the development of blockbuster drugs. This model has recently been roundly criticized. A research article issued in January from Morgan Stanley titled […]
First in Class vs. Best in Class- The Economics of Drug Discovery
The genomics and proteomics revolution has produced thousands of new targets for drug discovery. Designing molecules with novel mechanisms is sexy and can be very rewarding but is risky and time consuming- though some would say this novelty and pursuit of innovation is the embodiment of the biotech industry. But the pursuit of innovation requires […]
The Virtualization of Drug Development
Virtual Drug Development has been around since the 1990s with little fanfare. In this model, only the key personnel to manage the core operations of a project are retained, while all other functions are outsourced. Roche was an early adopter of virtual drug development, forming a subsidiary called Protodigm in 1996 consisting of only nine […]
Four Emerging Taiwan Drug Developers
Jason Chew Taiwan’s drug makers have largely focused on generics; few are in the business of developing novel medicines. This is partially due to the large resources required for such an endeavor combined with Taiwan’s small market potential. To justify the costs of developing a new drug, companies must have the ability to navigate across […]
Taiwan Liposome Company- Ahead of the Pack
Jason Chew Biotechnology is an emerging industry in Taiwan. After the country’s immense success in high tech, the government is searching for another engine of economic growth. There are now at least five science research parks and as of 2004, at least 238 biotechnology companies. Perhaps due, in part to Taiwan’s roots in computer sciences […]
A Rash of Data Expected From Seattle Genetics
Jason Chew(Featured in FieceBiotech, TheBigRedBiotechBlog) This autumn is turning out to be a busy season for Seattle Genetics. The company is expecting results from up to three clinical trials between September and October- each of which, if successful, may form the basis for the filing of an NDA. Two trials are nearing completion for flagship […]
Teva- Evolution of a Generics Company
Jason Chew(Featured on Bullfax) It is difficult to characterize Teva- is it a generics company or a biopharmaceutical? It would appear it is the best of both worlds, a hybrid of the two. For the year 2009, Teva derived 67% of its revenue from the sale of generics and the rest from novel drugs and […]
Big Biotech- The End of An Era
Jason Chew In their heyday, big biotech companies rivaled some Big Pharma companies in market capitalization and epitomized innovation in pharmaceutical development. At the time of its acquistion by Roche, Genentech was valued at $106 billion. Amgen at one time reached a valuation of over $100 billion, Gilead- over $50 billion. Excluding Genentech, the top […]
GSK and Anthera: Novel Treatments for Cardiovascular Disease
Jason Chew The cardiovascular disease (CVD) market is worth approximately $100 billion today and makes up 12% of all global pharmaceutical sales. Unit sales of medicines for CVD are growing, but patent expirations for drugs such as Lipitor will hold revenues down. The advent of statins in the treatment of CVD was an incredible advance […]
A New Era In HCV Drug Development
Jason Chew(Featured in HCVAdvocate.org) Pegylated interferon plus ribavirin is the current standard of care for HCV treatment. However, it is a 48-week treatment and is only effective in about 50% of patients. On top of that, patients must deal with the inconvenience of injections and side effects that include fatigue, depression, anemia, and rash. Now, […]
Vivus Investors Flee to Arena Pharmaceuticals
Jason Chew Vivus shares tanked after an expert panel voted 10 to 6 against approving its obesity drug, Qnexa. The panel was particularly worried that Vivus only had one year data for its drug- not long enough in its opinion to gather long term safey data in light of Qnexa’s CNS and Cardiovascular side effects. Qnexa […]
Gilead: Undervalued
Jason Chew Gilead’s stock has been in a funk. In the last three months, it has dropped 24% from about $46/share to about $35/share, this compares to a 15% drop for the Biotech HOLDERs index. It now has a PE of 11.1, lower than Pfizer, Novartis, and Sanofi Aventis, while having far higher growth and […]
Why Arena’s Lorcaserin Will Not Be Used In Combination With Phentermine
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 […]
