My Investor Packet from Kos was not particularly helpful.
I specifically requested copies of data on side effects, and references to published articles about side effects. The investor packet contained nothing about side effects. I requested a copy of the product insert, but this was also not included.
I am excited about a review article I found in the journal, Coronary Artery Disease 7(4):321-6 1996 Apr which has the following statement in the abstract: "Niacin has been shown to reduce coronary death and non-fatal myocardial infarction and, in a separate analysis of long-term (15 year) follow-up, all cause mortality". I have not yet tracked down the article to which this review article is referring.
If these these data are meaningful and robust, Kos can make a claim to improving clinical outcomes as well as ameliorating risk factors. This is great. It will help a lot in the market battle against companies like Bristol-Myers Squibb, who repeatedly remind us clinicians about the outcomes data they get with Pravachol.
Since Niaspan is supposed to be in pharmacies in November, I have decided to wait till then to contact the company again about data on side effects. As mentioned earlier, I think this stock is going to follow the typical biotech "U" shaped trajectory (lots of initial hype, optimism, market overvaluation, followed by excessive pessimism at the initially slow sales, followed by a nice return to investors. We are just coming down the left slope of the U now. I am waiting till 1998 to buy this stock, so I have not been in any hurry to extract more information from IR at Kos.
Best Regards,
TDD |
