Why Sales Estimates for Dendreon's Provenge Are Too Low [View article]
I agree with you. $75,000 for 4 months doesn't look great compared to some drugs in trial that are resulting in a large percentage patient complete remission, like SGEN, MITI, MNKD, CLDX, etc etc. There's going to be a lot of competition in immunotherapy. I am not saying sell DNDN, but I am saying diversification may be the best bet.
On May 18 05:16 PM tredleon wrote:
> While it seems plausible that there will be significant off-label > demand from earlier-stage patients, I have doubts about long-term > pricing and competition. The most troubling thing to me about the > data for Provenge is how at the end of the study period, which I > believe was 5 years, there was no difference in survival - in other > words, the Kaplan Meier curves between the treated and placebo groups > merged back together - the same percentage of patients were alive > from both groups at the end of the study. And since I would guess > 75%+ of the patients suffering from prostrate cancer are under Medicare/Medicaid, > pricing will be subject to whatever new rules the Obama administration > is going to push through. Call it rationing or whatever you want, > I question whether the govt is going to be willing to spend $4Billion+ > per year to give a small patient population 4 extra months of survival. > And even if they do, it is only a matter of time before a better > vaccine or treatment comes along - 4 months will not be hard to beat.
How can you tell if management is honest? What are the things you look for?
Thanks. Jolly Rancher
On Nov 29 03:00 PM nova wrote:
> Biotech investing is quite simple: > - A company must have a not very corrupt and so-so quality management > > - Clinical trials data in Ph II and, even better, in Ph III must > be solid > - Buy these stocks and wait (do not trade) > > So far, I have succeeded with ABGX, MLNM, IMCL, Biochem Pharma, Gild. > The first four were takenover, and the last did very well. But it > took 3-7 years. > > There is very few over-night successes in general. Oncology and HIV > are the good areas.
Why Sales Estimates for Dendreon's Provenge Are Too Low [View article]
On May 18 05:16 PM tredleon wrote:
> While it seems plausible that there will be significant off-label
> demand from earlier-stage patients, I have doubts about long-term
> pricing and competition. The most troubling thing to me about the
> data for Provenge is how at the end of the study period, which I
> believe was 5 years, there was no difference in survival - in other
> words, the Kaplan Meier curves between the treated and placebo groups
> merged back together - the same percentage of patients were alive
> from both groups at the end of the study. And since I would guess
> 75%+ of the patients suffering from prostrate cancer are under Medicare/Medicaid,
> pricing will be subject to whatever new rules the Obama administration
> is going to push through. Call it rationing or whatever you want,
> I question whether the govt is going to be willing to spend $4Billion+
> per year to give a small patient population 4 extra months of survival.
> And even if they do, it is only a matter of time before a better
> vaccine or treatment comes along - 4 months will not be hard to beat.
Biotech: The Next Big Bubble? [View article]
How can you tell if management is honest? What are the things you look for?
Thanks.
Jolly Rancher
On Nov 29 03:00 PM nova wrote:
> Biotech investing is quite simple:
> - A company must have a not very corrupt and so-so quality management
>
> - Clinical trials data in Ph II and, even better, in Ph III must
> be solid
> - Buy these stocks and wait (do not trade)
>
> So far, I have succeeded with ABGX, MLNM, IMCL, Biochem Pharma, Gild.
> The first four were takenover, and the last did very well. But it
> took 3-7 years.
>
> There is very few over-night successes in general. Oncology and HIV
> are the good areas.