LEHMAN BROS TAKE ON THE ISSUE:
Headline: Biotechnology: American Heart Association Conference Preview
Author: CA Butler,PhD/R.Rouse (212)526-4410
Company: CNTO, CORR, TXB, GNE, IPIC
Country: IND CUS
Industry: BIOTEC
Today's Date : 11/07/97
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* The upcoming Am. Heart Assoc. meetings will provide investors with a variety
of presentations on both familiar and emerging drugs to treat cardiovascular
conditions.
* Specifically, we suggest that the conference will bode well and thus provide
momentum for four Buy-rated stocks within our coverage universe: Centocor, COR
Therapeutics, Texas Biotechnology, and Interneuron.
* Several workshops over the weekend will highlight the more significant data
for both CORR and CNTO, while TXB and IPIC's data will come over the course of
the actual conference.
* Heading into the conference, we remain committed to our BUY rating on each
stock. On a risk-adjusted basis, however, CNTO remains our top choice.
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The 70th Scientific Sessions of the American Heart Association (AHA) will
begin Saturday Nov. 8 in Orlando, Florida and will run through Wednesday Nov.
12. Both at the main conference as well as the many satellite symposia, a
myriad of clinical data will be presented in the field of cardiology. Below
we attempt to highlight for investors some of the more pertinent
presentations.
George Washington University will host a workshop on Saturday entitled
Thrombolysis and Interventional Therapy in Acute Myocardial Infarction.
This program will include a discussion of Centocor's TIMI 14 and RAPPORT data,
COR's pivotal PURSUIT data for Integrilin, and Genentech's (GNE, $58 5/16, 2-
Outperform) TNK-tPA TIMI 10-B and ASSENT-1 trials. Also on Saturday, the
Texas Heart Institute will sponsor a symposium entitled Advancing the
Treatment of Acute Coronary Syndromes which will include several discussions
on the use of the class of IIb/IIIa inhibitors in various settings (including
combinations with stents). A smaller session on Saturday evening, New
Directions in the Management of Patients with Unstable Angina and Non-Q-Wave
Myocardial Infarction, will discuss the role of IIb/IIIa inhibitors an d will
have a specific discussion of Integrilin's PURSUIT data.
Perhaps one of the more significant satellite events will be INTERVENT 98 on
Sunday. A plethora of information on interventional cardiology, this program
will discuss Integrilin's PURSUIT trial, ReoPro's RAPPORT and ERASER studies ,
Merck's PRISM Plus study with Aggrestat. Noteworthy is that thought leader in
the community, Dr. Eric Topol of the Cleveland Clinic, will lead a discussion
comparing/contrasting the PARAGON, PRISM, PRISM Plus, and PURSUIT studies of
competing IIb/IIIa's. While the data from the aforementioned workshops will
also be presented throughout the conference, we suggest that much will be
revealed prior to Monday and that the stocks will begin to mount moves based
on what is discussed on Saturday and Sunday.
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AHA MAIN CONFERENCE - NOTABLE PRESENTATIONS :
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> Centocor (CNTO, $52, 1-Buy)
DRUG: ReoPro (abciximab / c7E3 fab), IIb/IIIa inhibitor
TRIALS: RAPPORT - Ph. 4 study in acute mi utilizing ReoPro as an adjunct to
primary PTCA; ERASER - Ph. 4 study utilizing ReoPro w/ stents; TIMI 14 - Ph. 2
study in acute mi; EPIC - Ph.3 study in PTCA; EPILOG - Ph.4 study in PTCA.
Abstract Topic Date/Time
476 ERASER results Mon. 8:45
902 EPILOG 1-yr data Mon. 9:00 (poster)
896 EPIC v. EPILOG bleeding Mon. 9:00 (poster)
900 Repeat ReoPro dosing Mon. 9:00 (poster)
2664 RAPPORT results Tue. 2:15
- 26 total abstracts Mon. through Wed. (in both oral and poster form)
These data should bode well for ReoPro sales as the drug is being repositioned
into the unstable angina market following label expansion (announced
yesterday).
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> COR Therapeutics (CORR, $23 7/8, 1-Buy)
DRUGS: Integrilin, IIb/IIIa inhibitor; Factor Xa antagonist
TRIALS: PURSUIT - Ph.3 study in unstable angina; IMPACT - Ph. 3 study in PTCA
Abstract Topic Date/Time
220 Factor Xa antagonist Mon 11:15
2647 Antiplatelet agents in ami Tue 3:00
2652 Comparison of IIb/IIIa's Tue 4:45
While most of the discusison of Integrilin trials will be limited primarily to
the weekend sessions, there will be two presentaions to specifically discuss
and/or compare the utility of certain IIb/IIIa inhibitors (including
Integrilin. COR will also be presenting data from a compound earlier in the
development process, its novel Factor Xa antagonist as an ihibitor of arterial
thrombosis.
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> Texas Biotechnology (TXB, $6 1/8, 1-Buy)
DRUG: Novastan (argatroban), thrombin inhibitor
TRIALS: MINT - Ph. 2 study w/ tPA in acute mi; Ph.2/3 study in PTCA patients
w/ HIT
Abstract Topic Date/Time
213 assays for HIT Mon. 8:45
1199 PTCA/HIT data Mon. 2:45
1845 MINT results Tue. 9:30
3635 Japanese restenosis data Wed. 10:30(poster)
It is worth noting, that the upcoming American Society of Hematology (ASH)
meetings in early December in San Diego will also be a venue for Novastan data
discussions. We propose that newly signed marketing partner SmithKline
Beecham will be quite aggressive in its unofficial premarketing' efforts and
will host a symposium on Friday, Dec. 5 focusing entirely on HIT and the role
of Novastan in HIT therapy.
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> Interneuron Pharmaceutical (IPIC, $11 9/16, 1-Buy)
DRUG: Redux (dexfenfluramine), serotonin reuptake inhibitor
Abstract Topic Date/Time
3033 Prevalence of heart valve disease Tue 1:30 (poster)
Evidence from this study suggests that valvular heart disease in the general
population is higher than previously anticipated and not dissimilar from that
observed in the studies utilizing anti-obesity drugs, such as fen-phen or
Redux. We believe this evidence provides greater probability for
Interneuron's Redux not being the primary cause of valvular disease as
previously speculated. Speculation regarding Interneuron's liability in law
suits involving Redux are further diminished.
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Disclosure Legend: A-Lehman Brothers Inc. managed or co-managed within the
past three years a public offering of securities for this company. B-An
employee of Lehman Brothers Inc. is a director of this company. C-Lehman
Brothers Inc. makes a market in the securities of this company. G-The Lehman
Brothers analyst who covers this company also has position in its securities. |
