SciClone SCLN
moneycentral.msn.com
Message 13156148
A synopsis of today's IBD's New American article on scln--
>>>Headline 'BIOTECH GOES OVERSEAS TO MARKET TREATMENT FOR HEPATITIS PATIENTS'
There is a story about a DR. James Kim who came down with HEP in '83. Treated with INTRON and had lot of side effects. In 1992 He heard of Zadaxin, flew to ITALY for treatment. "The drug saved my life! It was my last resort." His life is now back to normal. He jogs and plays tennis.
He sold his whole portfolio and put into SCLN. It is now worth $4.3 million.
Zadaxin works alone but works better with other drugs. It talks about the 16 other countries.
It interviews Sellers and he gives ALL th good data. There is a comment from RED CHIP REVIEW> It then talks about the financials.<<<
Article from wordlyinvestor.com
Two Companies Bank on Hepatitis Treatments
By Nadine Wong, Biotech Stocks Columnist
BioChem Pharma and SciClone have the products and the marketing, but revenues may be hard to collect.
BioChem Pharma (Nasdaq:BCHE - news) and SciClone (Nasdaq:SCLN - news) are two companies currently marketing compounds to treat the millions of hepatitis B patients worldwide.
Both these companies show a lot of potential, but the bottom line in selling therapeutics internationally is that some countries don't have access to health care. If SciClone or BioChem Pharma intend to operate in those countries, reimbursement of their drugs under government or private health insurance programs may not be available.
Hepatitis B is one of the most common infectious diseases in the world, causing both acute and chronic forms, which can lead to cirrhosis and cancer of the liver. More than 300 million individuals are infected with hepatitis B virus (HBV) worldwide (mostly in Asia), of which about 20%, or 60 million, are likely to be eligible for therapy.
Potential for Piece of $3 Billion Market
Despite the staggering numbers of victims, HBV infection can be prevented. In the US, vaccines are available that can prevent the transmission of HBV; however, these vaccines cannot help those already infected.
When the illness progresses to the point where the liver stops working properly, the patient must receive a liver transplant. Transplantations are costly procedures with a good success rate and are just one reason why the estimated economic impact for hepatitis B is easily over $3 billion dollars.
BioChem Pharma is a Canadian biopharmaceutical company developing therapeutic products, vaccines and diagnostics. BioChem Pharma's stock has been depressed recently, primarily due to sluggish sales and setbacks in their second-generation anti-HIV therapy, but in my opinion the potential remains strong.
Shares of BioChem Pharma appear to be cheap based on most financial valuations. The company needs a catalyst to re-ignite investor interest. In that sense, the market for hepatitis B treatment is important.
BioChem Shares to Stay Dormant in 2000
I expect shares of BioChem Pharma to be stagnant until sales of anti-HBV therapy Zeffix start to beat expectations, which may not take place until the end of the year at the earliest. However, there is limited downside for the time being, and the shares may appeal more to value-oriented investors with a time horizon of one year or more.
BioChem Pharma is best known for its anti-HIV compound 3TC, also known as Epivir. Worldwide sales of Epivir, which is co-marketed with Glaxo Wellcome (NYSE:GLX - news), were $873 million in 1999. Zeffix, the company's next major product, is a actually a different formulation of 3TC.
For the fourth quarter, US sales of Zeffix were only $13.3 million, $5 million short of the company's quarterly goals. Last year, BioChem Pharma began to market the drug outside the US, where the bulk of the HBV patients reside. At an annual treatment price of over $1,000, this could be the market driver for BioChem Pharma.
Revenues Not Guaranteed in All Markets
However, in economically deprived areas such as China, where there is a huge potential market, even the discounted treatment price of less than $500 may not be affordable. Besides China, BioChem Pharma has also recently opened its distribution network to South Korea, Canada, the Philippines, Japan, and Hong Kong markets.
The company is anticipating reimbursement in Europe, South Korea and the Middle East, but penetration into these areas has been slower than hoped. And until the company can make some strong governmental and marketing inroads into the international forum, sales of Zeffix may not reach its potential.
SciClone Sees Profitability by Year End
SciClone is currently marketing Zadaxin, a treatment that has been approved in 16 countries primarily as a treatment for hepatitis B and C, although it has investigational status in the US. SciClone's global marketing strategy has rewarded the company with increased sales and will fuel an upward movement in the stock price. I anticipate that SciClone can meet its goal to be profitable by the end of 2000.
>> This is the most important thing to monitor
For the year 1999, SciClone reported total revenues of $9,397,000, up 152% from 1998. Total Zadaxin sales for 1999 were $9,090,000, up 151% from $3,625,000. For the year, the company lost 26 cents per share, narrower than the loss of $1.29 per share in 1998.
SciClone expects these trends to continue in 2000 and maintains the goal of operating profitably by year end. SciClone has filed for Zadaxin marketing approval in 19 additional countries. So there is substantial potential for SciClone to continue to grow in sales.
Another biotech company that can play a role in the large hepatitis B market is Gilead Sciences (Nasdaq:GILD - news). Gilead's drug Adefovir is expected to receive Food Drug and Administration approval for treating hepatitis B in 2003 and will be marketed shortly afterwards. The company has a bright future with a decent product pipeline plus the data from clinical trials with Adefovir looks promising.
Nadine Wong is editor and publisher of the BioTech Navigator Newsletter (www.biotechnav.com), the leading biotech investment newsletter in the nation. Her weekly column looks at the hottest stocks in the biotech sector.
Go to www.worldlyinvestor.com to see all of our latest stories.
Technical Entry into SCLN
One good way of entering SCLN is by puttin a buy stop at 18 9/16. The idea is if it can take out the resistance at 18 1/2 it has a chance to bust through to make new highs. |
