To: Mudcat who wrote (28943 ) 6/24/1999 9:39:00 AM From: Monte High Read Replies (1) | Respond to
Frankly, with the capriciousness of the FDA, the uncertainties of trial enrollment, no biotech should be telling the public squat about their target dates inside of a one year range. It is counterproductive to give blow by blow development progress to a public which is largely igonorant of the drug development process. It is ludicrous to be overly concerned about two months here three months there. Drug development CANNOT be controlled with that kind of precision any more than drug discovery can. In the final analysis its...do they get it done. So far Ligand is 2 for 2. If Targretin Oral makes it, it will be 3 for 3. If Targrein Gel makes it, it will be 4 for 4. Kindly list the biotechs that have that kind of track record. Ligand has never said these were blockbuster indications. An oncology business is not built that way. You go for niche indications and then move into others once on the market. Interferon is a classic case. Its initial indication was hairy cell leukemia, about 400 new patients a year. Now, years later, it is a billion dollar plus drug worldwide. Ligand is trying to build a business with a sustainable pipeline where a single failure does not have the potential to destroy the company. There are too many one-trick ponies in biotech. Ligand is not one of them. There is a danger in the "mantra" of focus, focus, focus. Those that focus too much down to only one product, one objective are more likely to end up on the take over or absorbtion block because they haven't build a broadly sustainable business.
