v1.
thanks so much for your synopsis of BGEN's presentation at the H&Q conference. believe you me, it's tremendously appreciated.
there's nothing incredibly noteworthy here, but fwiw, BGEN is online investor's featured stock today:
Stock of the Day
Jan 13, 1999
Biogen: Soars on Upbeat Presentation
Biogen (Nasdaq:BGEN - news) surged 7 points on Tuesday after making a bullish presentation at the Hambrecht & Quist's Healthcare Conference. This leading biotech company said fourth quarter sales of its top-selling MS drug, Avonex, totaled $120 million. Comments from Biogen's CEO suggested Avonex is achieving rapid penetration of the European market, reaffirming their expectations for a strong year ahead.
We profiled Biogen just over a year ago in a Company Spotlight entitled "Taking Some of the Guess Work Out of Biotech Investing." Who could have guessed the stock would soar more than $54 to $89 currently. Our title referred to how hard it is for investors to evaluate biotech stocks since most don't have sales and earnings yet, and with Biogen at least you had these metrics by which to measure it. As it turns out, Biogen has delivered impressively on these numbers, hence the dramatic rise in the stock.
According to Biogen's presentation on Tuesday, the company earned $0.54 per share in the fourth quarter and $1.80 for the year. That compares to $1.17 in 1997, a 54% increase. These profit figures were right in line with the analyst consensus. The number of MS patients using Avonex rose to 55,000 in 1998 from 35,000 a year earlier. The company's bullish comments on the future such as "We can now see that 100,000 patients on Avonex worldwide should be an achievable goal over the next several years," may encourage some analysts to bump up future estimates. The consensus for 1999 currently stands at $2.47.
Biogen's Avonex received FDA approval in mid-1996 as a treatment for multiple sclerosis. This product marked a shift in strategy for Biogen to marketing the drugs they develop, instead of simply licensing them to a big pharmaceutical company and collecting royalties. Biogen still collects substantial licensing revenues from products it developed in the past such as alpha interferon drugs used to treat hepatitis.
A strong outlook on Avonex sales for several years to come is critical in keeping investors comfortable, since Biogen's next major product launch is still two or three years away. The company is studying several other uses for Avonex, and it has three new drugs in Phase II clinical trials right now. Amevive is a T-cell inhibiting protein intended to treat psoriasis and other inflammatory conditions. Biogen is conducting trials with Antova to treat lupus and other autoimmune disorders. Last but not least, Adentri is being studied as a treatment of edema associated with congestive heart failure.
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