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Thermo Fisher Scientific Q2 2010 Earnings Call Transcript

admin — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 15:34:26 +0000

Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO)

Q2 2010 Earnings Call

July 27, 2010 8:30 am ET

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Don’t Sleep Through Cephalon’s Growth

admin — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 15:34:26 +0000

Ockham Research submits:

Cephalon (CEPH) is a biopharmaceutical company that we have highlighted in the past, and it reported another outstanding quarter after the close on Tuesday. The company’s most successful drug is Provigil, which is used to treat some sleep disorders, but for some reason we think the market has been lulled into sleepiness when it comes to this growth story.

The company reported revenue of $712.4 million, or 32% growth over the second quarter last year. Adjusted for income per share came in at $2.20 per share, 41% better than a year ago and $.43 cents better than Wall Street expected (that is after 9 analysts upped their targets in just the last month). The company experienced growth in all different categories of drugs with oncology drug Treanda being a standout from the bunch.

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Seattle Genetics, Inc. Q2 2010 Earnings Call Transcript

admin — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 15:34:26 +0000

Seattle Genetics, Inc. (SGEN)

Q2 2010 Earnings Call

July 27, 2010 5:00 pm ET

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Illumina, Inc. Q2 2010 Earnings Call Transcript

admin — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 15:34:26 +0000

Illumina, Inc. (ILMN)

Q2 2010 Earnings Call Transcript

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Genzyme Giving Sanofi-Aventis the Cold Shoulder?

admin — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 15:34:26 +0000

Derek Lowe submits:

That’s what Bloomberg is reporting. Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal reported that GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has expressed interest in the recent past, and that J&J (JNJ) might get involved as well. If a deal goes through, no matter who ends up making it, it’ll be a lot more expensive than it looked like at first.

But isn’t that ever the way in M&A? The problem is, everyone except the buyer has a great interest in seeing things go off at the highest possible price.

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Antigenics: Bright Future Ahead

admin — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 15:34:26 +0000

VFC submits:

Shares of Antigenics (AGEN) approached the one dollar mark during Tuesday’s trading session after the company released a positive update regarding a Phase I trial for AG-707, a potential treatment for herpes simplex virus-2 (HSV-2), the virus that causes genital herpes. AG-707, if it works as advertised, is not a cure for the disease, but could help in treatment and prevention.

Phase I results come too soon in a pipeline to get really excited about when looking at the short to mid term, but the early success of this product only adds to the potentially bright future of Antigenics.

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Transdel Pharma Stands to Gain From Pain Medication

admin — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 15:34:26 +0000

M.E. Garza submits:

The real asset for Transdel Pharmaceuticals Inc. (TDLP.OB) is their proprietary transdermal cream drug delivery platform. Pharmaceutical companies have taken notice of the technology and the company may be on the verge of big news. Utilizing this cream-based technology (called Transdel), they’ve developed their lead product called Ketotransdel, a potentially first in class, topical anti-inflammatory cream for the treatment of acute pain. Company officials feel this technology has other pharmaceutical and cosmiceutical product applications that can be developed in the future.

Ketotransdel, the Company’s lead late stage pain product, utilizes the Transdel technology to deliver the active drug, ketoprofen, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (“NSAID”), through the skin directly into the underlying tissues where the drug exerts its well-known anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects. This Ketotransdel product has actually been taken through a Phase 3 trial, so it’s a late stage product.

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Big Biotech: End of an Era

admin — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 15:34:26 +0000

Jason Chew submits:

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 (RHHBY.PK), Genentech (DNA) was valued at $106 billion. Amgen (AMGN) at one time reached a valuation of over $100 billion, Gilead (GILD) over $50 billion. Excluding Genentech, the top five biotechs- Amgen, Gilead, Celgene (CELG), Genzyme (GENZ), and Biogen Idec (BIIB) have now lost a combined $89 billion in market value from their peak, about 40% of their value.

Each of these top biotechs were founded in the 1970s and 1980s, bringing life-changing innovations with them. Their technologies revolutionized healthcare. Once the backwaters of drug development, Genentech built its empire by developing novel cancer therapies; Amgen saw the benefits of cloned EPO, and buit an entire franchise around it; Gilead designed effective and convenient combination anti-viral pills, overtaking all others in the HIV market. These companies were driven by legends in the biotechnology field: Art Levinson, George Rathman, John Martin.

A confluence of factors has led to the slow decline of these big biotechs (Genentech is an exception.) The very thing that has driven growth for these biotechs has now become a reason for their drag. Their focus on targeted niches has made each a dominant player in their categories. For instance, Celgene is a leader in multiple myeloma, Genzyme in enzyme replacement therapy, and Biogen Idec in multiple sclerosis. This has given the companies pricing power and allowed for very high margins.

With patent expirations looming, investors began to focus on the companies’ product pipelines and realized they were quite empty; years of pouring money on internal research projects has come up dry. Big biotech was in the same predicament as Big Pharma- sales of blockbusters are slowing but there isn’t anything to replace them. On top of that, the companies are facing pricing pressure from government regulation both in the EU and the US.

Until last year, Genzyme was looking like the company that would succeed beyond its core enzyme replacement therapies. Although that segment made up about half its sales, its oncology unit was growing well, as was biosurgery. Then in June 2009, a bacterial contamination forced it to cease production of its two leading drugs Cerezyme and Fabrazyme at its main plant. With continued problems, its stock price was cut to a low of $45 in May from its $80 peak.

Wounded, Sanofi-Aventis (SNY) approached Genzyme with an informal takeover offer on July 23, instantly putting the company in play. [[GSK]] is said to be interested as well. According to Bloomberg, Genzyme may command a price of $80 per share, a 48% premium to its closing price the day before reports of Sanofi’s interests surfaced.

Genzyme’s peers, Amgen, Gilead, Celgene, and Biogen Idec are often the subject of takeover speculation, though even with their now reduced market caps, perhaps only Biogen isn’t so large as to cause indigestion.

What happens then as the big biotechs are picked off by Big Pharma or join their ranks as slow growing behemoths? It appears there may be a second generation of biotechs waiting in the wings, on the cusp of greatness. As it so happens, this generation is the 1980s and 1990s set: Vertex (VRTX), Human Genome Sciences (HGSI), Dendreon (DNDN), Alexion, (ALXN) Amylin (AMLN), BioMarin (BMRN).

The dynamic biotech industry has produced another batch of companies, each with innovative, life-changing technologies. Let’s see if they succeed.

Disclosure: Long ALXN, GENZ

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Bemis Company, Inc. Q2 2010 Earnings Call Transcript

admin — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 15:34:25 +0000

Bemis Company, Inc. (BMS)

Q2 2010 Earnings Call

July 27, 2010 10:00 AM ET

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QLT Inc. Q2 2010 Earnings Call Transcript

admin — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 18:34:01 +0000

QLT Inc. (QLTI)

Q2 2010 Earnings Call

July 27, 2010 8:30 AM ET

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