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Biotech / Medical : Biotech Valuation -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Biomaven who wrote (1085)	5/11/2000 10:55:00 PM
From: Jim Oravetz	Respond to of 52153

This first snipit is from a recently filed SEC document from a biotech that I own. It?s so generic that it could be cut and pasted into almost any biotech?s SEC documents. Below is a link to an NPR story (RealAudio req?d) that talked about insurance companies and clinical trials. Quite an interesting piece. The drugs are free to patients in the trails, but adjunct testing ? blood work, xrays etc., needs to be paid for by the insurance companies (they do not want to). Who is "right"? Could lead to a slow down in clinicals, just when demand is increasing? ....Our ability to market drugs successfully will depend in part on the extent to which various third parties are willing to reimburse patients for the costs of our drugs and related treatments. These third parties include government authorities, private health insurers, and other organizations, such as health maintenance organizations. Third-party payors often challenge the prices charged for medical products and services. Accordingly, if less costly drugs are available, third-party payors may not authorize or may limit reimbursement for our drugs, even if they are safer or more effective than the alternatives. In addition, the federal government and private insurers have considered ways to change, and have changed, the manner in which health care services are provided and paid for in the United States. In particular, these third party payors are increasingly attempting to contain health care costs by limiting both coverage and the level of reimbursement for new therapeutic products (my add: and ones in development). In the future, it is possible that the government may institute price controls and further limits on Medicare and Medicaid spending. These controls and limits could affect the payments we collect from sales of our products. search.npr.org Patients Bill of Rights (14.4 \| 28.8) -- NPR's Joe Palca reports on the continuing fight on Capitol Hill over the Patients Bill of Rights. Today, President Clinton is meeting with Congressional negotiators to attempt to break a year-long deadlock that endangers the patients bill of rights. One cause for the stalemate is the issue of whether insurance companies should help pay for clinical trials. The insurance industry says it should not be forced to pay for unproven therapies. But researchers argue that insurance companies should at least pay for the procedures they would cover in regular care. (8:39min) Peter: I'm not quite yet ready to visit the SEC site and read up on the "exciting" details. Maybe some night that I can not sleep. Thanks for the info. Jim EDIT: I see someone else heard the NPR piece. Thanks, David. Message 13680773