Nice to see you again. We hope your week has gone well. As usual, we have been quite busy and look forward to a respite this weekend. Still, there is much to be done. So please join us as we grab our daily cup of stimulation and catch up with events. Hope your day goes well...
Bristol-Myers CEO Buys 100,000 Shares (Yahoo/Reuters)
Takeda Expects Profits To Fall On Takeover Costs (Bloomberg News)
German Drugmaker Hikes Thalidomide Compensation (Deutsche Welle)
Celgene Poised For International Growth (The Star-Ledger of New Jersey)
1 Comment
Celgene is probably now one of the top ten biopharmaceutical companies that exist due to thier success with Revlimid, primarily, which is approaching making close to 2 billion dollars annually. Celgene is one of the most richly valued biopharmaceutical companies relative to it's earnings due in large part to Revlimid.
Revlimid is for multiple myeloma, among other diseases, and can lead to leukemia in about a third of all diagnosed cases. An immunomodulary drug, remission has occured with pts. who have taken this drug. In addition, the drug delays the progression of the disease and doubles the survival rate of patients who take the drug for this disease. So the high response rates ensure durable disease control.
In large part, the clinical data of Revlimid has allowed doctors to adopt to the drug rather easily, as doctors find this data incredibly compelling.
In my opinion, the large survival benefit is a great advantage with this drug, at a cost of over 6 thousand dollars a month. other biopharmaceuticals cost much more than that amount and only offer a few months of additional life.
Revlimid is a chemical cousin of thalidomide, yet is much cleaner in regards to safety and efficacy. Along with being more potent, pts. achieve quicker responses from the drug at lower doses, which are given as an oral pill.
Anemia is part of the myeloma disease, and most patients on Revlimid achieve independence from transfusions during treatment with Revlimid.
Celgene's revenues go to thier R and D two to three times as much as other pharma companies, which has proven to be beneficial for them.