TOP 100 MEDICAL SITES
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| Abbott Expands Emerging Market Generic Drug Presence with Piramal Acquisition Mike Havrilla submits:Abbott Labs (NYSE:ABT) is poised to become the top pharmaceutical company in India, following its acquisition of Piramal's healthcare solutions business. The deal follows a collaboration announced last week between Abbott and India-based Zydus Cadila. Abbott also announced the establishment of a stand-alone established products division which accounts for over $5 billion in sales. The established products division consists of branded generics, which represent off-patent products subject to generic competition that are able to retain many of the characteristics of proprietary pharmaceutical products - especially in emerging markets such as India.Last week, Abbott licensed 24 pharmaceutical products from Zydus that are focused on 15 high-growth emerging markets and the deal includes an option for over 40 additional products. The Piramal acquisition will make Abbott the number one pharmaceutical company in India with 7% market shares and estimated annual sales growth projected at 20% in a market that is expected to generate approximately $8 billion in pharmaceutical sales this year that could double by 2015. Abbott is paying $2.1 billion up-front for Piramal, in addition to $400 million annually over the next four years. Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |
Laboratory Corporation of America® Holdings Announces 2010 Second Quarter Results (Business Wire) BURLINGTON, N.C.----Laboratory Corporation of America® Holdings today announced results for the quarter ended June 30, 2010. us.rd.yahoo.com |
Clarient Can Profit From Rise of Individualized Medicine M.E. Garza submits: This small-cap company may be poised to be a long-term leader in cancer diagnostics and molecular testing. It combines innovative diagnostic technologies with world-class pathology expertise to assess and characterize cancer. The rise of individualized medicine as the new direction in oncology has created the need for a centralized resource providing leading diagnostic technologies, such as flow cytometry and molecular testing. Clarient Inc. (CLRT) has a state-of-the-art commercial cancer laboratory, providing the most advanced oncology testing and diagnostic services. It's also developing new, proprietary “companion” diagnostic markers for therapeutics in breast, prostate, lung and colon cancers, and leukemia/lymphoma. Clarient has a wonderful and comparatively inexpensive series of cancer diagnostic platforms that enables clinicians to determine the most effective therapies available for cancers having various genetic expressions. Its sales have been increasing at up to 20% a year compounded. Much of CLRT’s IP comes from its acquistion of Applied Genomics, Inc in December 2009. Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |
Some Doctors Question New Cancer Treatment Some doctors are raising concerns about a new cancer-treatment device called the NanoKnife that uses electrical jolts to zap tumors but that hasn't been through a large clinical trial to prove it's safe and effective in people. online.wsj.com |
Alexion Pharma Has Plenty of Room to Grow Jason Chew submits: Since the launch of its drug Soliris in 2007, Alexion (ALXN) has achieved sales of over $386 million in 2009 and has upped guidance for total 2010 net product sales to between $536-$538 million, a 39% increase over the previous year. Soliris is indicated solely for the treatment of Paroxysmal Nocturnal Hemoglobinuria ((PNH)), an ultra rare disease with an annual incidence of 1-2 cases per million. There are an estimated 5000 individuals living with PNH in the US. PNH is caused by a missing gene, allowing complement proteins to destroy red blood cells in a process called hemolysis. It is an antibody targeted against complement C5, preventing its activation, thereby slowing the destruction of red blood cells. Alexion is a rarity in the biotech world, launching its drug on its own, and building an international salesforce from scratch. With the drug’s commercial success, analysts have long speculated Alexion as a takeover target. Newly released interim results from a clinical trial for Soliris in atypical Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (aHUS) only further the takeover speculation. These early results show the drug to be effective in the treatment of this disease, caused by dysregulation of the complement system, in severe cases leading to renal failure and death. It has been estimated Alexion could achieve sales of around $500 million in this indication. This is a tidy sum on top of the already strong sales in PNH. Big Pharma has been showing a keen interest in the rare disease field. In the last couple years, Pfizer (PFE) licensed Protalix BioTherapeutics’ (PLX) Gaucher’s disease drug, [[GSK]] formed a collaboration with Prosensa to develop a Duchenne Muscular Dystrophytreatment, and Novartis (NVS) developed its own drug, Ilaris, for the treatment of Cryopyrin-Associated Periodic Syndrome. This is not to mention Sanofi Aventis’ (SNY) hostile bid for Genzyme (GENZ), maker of multiple ultra rare disease treatments. Rare diseases is a bright spot in pharmaceutical drug development. While total drug approvals have drifted downwards, approvals for drugs treating rare diseases have remained constant. Passage of the Orphan Drug Act in 1984 also provided financial incentives including shorter regulatory review times, and an extra seven years of exclusivity from competition. The acquisition of Alexion would bring not only a blockbuster drug, but expertise in the development and sales of drugs for ultra rare diseases. Soliris’ success begins with its effectiveness, but it is only the beginning. The company’s ability to educate patients, advocacy groups, specialty doctors, and regulatory bodies served to increased awareness of this rare disease and Soliris as a treatment option. This combined with the adoption of state-of-the-art diagnostics tools helped make patient recruitment and fee reimbursements possible. Also, importantly, the company brings expertise in designing clinical trials with a very small number of patients. Alexion is not a cheap stock, valued at over $6 billion, with a forward PE of 28. With continued penetration in the US and Western Europe, expansion into Japan, Latin America, and Canada, among others, PNH sales should continue to increase. Anticipated success of Soliris in aHUS, and farther out, in other complement mediated diseases, will further drive sales growth. Acquisition or not, it will do just fine. Disclosure: Long ALXN, NVSComplete Story » seekingalpha.com |