Portfolio Manager

Genmab Punished as Arzerra Stumbles in Pivotal Trial - Glaxo Also Affected

Even a biosimilar would be an incredibly lucrative drug, and even if Glaxo had to sell Arzerra at a discount to Rituxan. But so far it looks as if Arzerra is significantly more efficacious than Rituxan. Remember, both the NHL and the CLL trials were in patients for whom Rituxan had stopped working. Those patients were very sick, and the disappointment in the refractory NHL trial says nothing about how well Arzerra will do in a front-line trial. Moreover, Rituxan has a little-discussed issue--as a chimeric mab, it causes immune responses. Arzerra, which is fully human, does not. This is particularly important in non-fatal indications like arthritis. Rituxan accounts for a significant percentage of the market caps of Roche and Biogen Idec. The selloff seems wholly disproportionate; even before it dropped 30%, I think Genmab was a bargain. I think if Genmab were listed in the US and were available to a broader range of investors it would have a market cap more like that of Vertex, which in some ways is a much shakier story. For those who have the ability to buy on the OMX, this is an excellent opportunity, and I just tripled the number of shares I own.