More good news concerning Monsanto and RoundUp. Imagine a new herbicide product to be sold-a-plenty with all the new RR products debuting in 1998 and beyond.
Flamel Technologies Shares Jump On Pact With Monsanto
Dow Jones Online News, Tuesday, January 06, 1998 at 14:43
By Janet Morrissey
Staff Reporter
NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- Wall Street jumped on Flamel Technologies S.A.
stock Tuesday after the company confirmed it had signed a potentially
lucrative agreement with Monsanto Co. to upgrade Monsanto's
world-renowned Roundup herbicide.
In afternoon trading, Flamel Technologies' (FLMLY) American
depositary receipts were up $1.313, or 48%, at $4.063 on Nasdaq volume
of 95,700, compared with average daily volume of about 14,000. The jump
followed a 29% rise Monday.
Analyst Laurie Haber of New Vernon Associates, who follows the
agrochemical sector, said the Monsanto (MTC) agreement is a significant
conquest for Flamel Technologies.
"Roundup is the largest agrochemical product in the world," said
Haber, "This is a huge opportunity for (Flamel)."
Under the pact, Flamel Technologies, based in Lyon, France, will use
its Agsome Agrochemical Delivery System technology to upgrade Monsanto's
Roundup herbicide. On top of research and development payments as well
as milestone fees, Flamel will rake in royalties once the product is
developed.
Monsanto reaped about $2.3 billion in revenue from the Roundup
herbicide in 1997, according to Haber.
Making the upgrade even more timely and urgent is the countdown to
the 2001 expiration date on the Roundup patent in the U.S. Once the
patent expires, other companies will be able to make generic versions of
the herbicide, cutting into Monsanto's sales and margins.
The aim of the Flamel-Monsanto agreement is to develop an improved,
less-costly version of the Roundup herbicide that will allow Monsanto to
secure a patent for another 17 to 20 years, said Flamel spokesman George
Anania. He described the collaborative agreement, which has been in the
works for about 18 months, as Flamel's potentially largest to date.
Anania wouldn't speculate on when the company expects to harvest
dollars from the agreement. He attributed Tuesday's stock activity
solely to the Monsanto news and said Monday's activity was likely the
result of investor purchases following year-end tax-loss selling. |
