Alexion Pharmaceuticals expanding
01:00 AM EDT on Wednesday, September 12, 2007
By Benjamin N. Gedan
Journal Staff Writer
Alexion Pharmaceuticals is rapidly expanding its sales force and launching programs aimed at increasing the diagnosis of a rare blood disease treated with Soliris, a drug the company makes, its chief executive officer said yesterday.
Alexion recently increased its sales force by 45 percent, up to 32 sales executives from 22, CEO Leonard Bell said in a speech at the Bear Stearns 20th Healthcare Conference, in New York City.
The company, based in Cheshire, Conn., is building a $47-million biomanufacturing facility in Smithfield at the former Dow Chemical plant. It now produces the drug in contract laboratories.
"Based upon success in the first quarter, we have increased our investment in our U.S. sales force by increasing the number of reps in the field," Bell said. "The purpose of this is to provide greater geographic reach.
"We are pinpointing individual patients, one patient at a time."
Alexion began selling Soliris in the United States in April. As of June 30, Bell said, 295 patients were taking the medication to treat paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria, a disease that destroys red blood cells and can cause severe anemia, blood clots and damage to the kidneys and liver.
The illness, known as PNH, is considered rare. But Alexion officials say many cases go undiagnosed.
The company is launching a range of "diagnostic initiatives," dispatching representatives to discuss PNH with doctors in Europe as part of "disease awareness programs," and establishing a "clinical support team" in the United States for a similar purpose.
In July, Alexion announced its purchase of the FLAER technology, a PNH test that the company says will result in more positive diagnoses.
Though FLAER was introduced at least five years ago, it is used at only 12 centers in Europe and the United States. Under Alexion's ownership, Bell said, it could become more widely accepted.
Alexion is also attempting to screen 10,000 patients with aplastic anemia and myelodysplastic syndromes to determine if they have PNH.
FLAER, Bell said, "provides a very sensitive, rapid and reliable diagnostic test for PNH."
"Diagnosis today is relatively infrequent," he said. "They can't receive effective therapy if they're not diagnosed."
In June, Alexion received permission to sell Soliris in 29 European countries, and sales in the United Kingdom and Germany are expected to start before the end of the year.
Sales in the rest of Europe are scheduled to begin next year, and the company is expanding its headquarters in Switzerland and France in advance of the rollout.
There is no other treatment for PNH, and Alexion is seeking permission to sell its drug in Australia and Japan. "We have also expanded our global ambitions," Bell said.
Already, U.S. sales are transforming the company's financial standing.
Revenue in the second quarter of the year reached $10 million, and losses declined to $22 million, down from $30 million in the last three months of last year.
That performance has bolstered the company's stock, as well.
Shares of Alexion are up 82 percent, or $29.32, since March 5. The stock closed at $65.09 yesterday, up 23 cents, or 0.4 percent.
The company plans to announce its third-quarter earnings next month.
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