This is a copy of a letter from Peter Johnson to Agouron employees. Larry Moss on the AOL MB origially posted this on the MF MB.
July 7, 1998
Dear Agouron Colleague:
As you may know, there has been a sharp plunge in Agouron share price over the last several days precipitated by a flurry of news reports from the recent International AIDS Conference in Geneva
casting doubt on the future for HIV protease inhibitors, including Agouron's VIRACEPT. In this period of over overreaction to simplistic media reports, it is perhaps useful to review a few salient facts.
The dramatic drop in AIDS-related deaths over the last two years correlates directly with, and is widely regarded as having been produced by, the rise in use of protease inhibitor-containing
combination therapy. Protease inhibitors have ushered in a new era of effective treatment of HIV infection and are recommended by the National Institutes of Health as the cornerstone of contemporary HIV therapy. The stature of protease inhibitors is built solidly upon years of experience in hundreds of thousands of people living with HIV and has won the loyalty of physicians, patients, and health care professionals alike. I am proud to say that VIRACEPT is currently the best selling protease inhibitor in the United States; we expect soon to report that our goal for sales of VIRACEPT in fiscal 1998 has been met.
Short-term results from clinical trials presented at Geneva suggest that a class of drugs known as non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs) have the potential to contribute importantly to the efficacy of combination HIV therapy. One clinical trial showed that a three-drug regimen containing the experimental NNRTI efavirenz (Sustiva) produced anti-viral effects after six months that were at least as good as those produced by a three-drug regimen containing Merck's protease inhibitor. Another clinical trial showed that a three-drug combination containing both efavirenz and VIRACEPT outperformed another three-drug combination containing efavirenz, but no protease inhibitor. Efavirenz promises to bring another potent drug to combination therapy.
Some have conjectured that the advent of potent NNRTIs such as efavirenz entails the demise of protease inhibitors, because protease inhibitors are not perfect. We vehemently disagree. The short history of HIV therapy suggests that every good new agent which becomes available expands the total number of patients receiving therapy. The best drugs rise to the top and are used together in combination therapy. More patients and physicians are inspired to commence treatment by the ver-improving efficacy of ever-improving combination therapy. This is exactly what we expect to happen when efavirenz is approved and joins such widely used drugs as VIRACEPT.
Agouron has no intention of permitting sensationalistic articles in the press or the volatility of the stock market to alter our commitment to the effective treatment of HIV infection. Because two thirds of HIV-infected patients still go untreated, the problem is too serious for us to turn our backs on. After analyzing the probable impact of new drugs in this field, we still expect to sell more VIRACEPT in the current fiscal year than last year. In addition, we are investing in one of the most advanced agents now in development to enhance immune reconstitution in HIV-infected people. We are investing in a new NNRTI dubbed "the next efavirenz" by one commentator. We are investing in a new protease inhibitor with strong potential to help patients who have been failed by the first generation protease inhibitors. We are investing in discovery of a new class of agents called integrase inhibitors. No company on earth is more earnestly or deeply committed to expanding the range of effective drugs available for treatment of HIV infection and AIDS.
Agouron continues to be a company with strong financial footing. Later this month, we will reveal to the financial community an innovative plan to aggressively pursue development of these new HIV therapies, while maintaining steady growth of earnings in our VIRACEPT-driven anti-virals business in the current fiscal year. And we will describe our plan for continuing to pursue novel drugs for treatment of cancer and other serious diseases without loss of momentum.
I am confident that the combination of personal commitment, great science and a sound business plan will revive the value of Agouron shares by which we all, in some degree, measure ourselves.
Please join me in redoubling our determination to successfully execute our plan, overcome the hurdles imposed by the current environment of skepticism, and vindicate the great majority of our shareholders whose faith in us remains strong.
Sincerely yours,
Peter Johnson
President & CEO
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