Peter,
Your point is well taken. However, perhaps MGI can use initial Sjogren's sales of Salagen to ramp up their internal marketing efforts, and so avoid splitting the profits with a partner. To that end, it is my understanding (I read this somewhere, but do not remember where) that it has recently become easier to advertise pharmaceutical products directly to potential end-users (patients) via television, and other media. (I can, personally, offer anecdotal confirmation: I have been seeing quite a few [*many, many* more than I saw previously] such advertisements, and I don't even watch very much television!)
One million potential users, at $1,000/year, on a high margin product, makes for a decent bit of money, potentially. Even if only 5% of the sufferers were to be reached, it would still amount to some $50 million in revenue (for a $70 million market cap company.)
Furthermore, I understand that the Sjogren's market is fairly homogenous (typically, middle aged women, isn't that right?) I imagine that it would not take a tremendous amount of money to do some properly targeted educational advertisement, aimed at this segment of the population. With any luck, they could afford to do such "awareness" advertisement (using initial sales revenue,) and still have plenty left over for MGI-114 development (if they get a European partner soon; perhaps not otherwise.)
Just a thought. I could be wrong about this. Anyway, it is nice to have FDA approval. Whichever way Blitzer decides to go, I have no reason to doubt that he will make the optimal choice.
Regards,
RB |
