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Biotech / Medical : T/FIF, a New Plateau -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: scaram(o)uche who wrote (1031)	3/24/2002 11:41:50 AM
From: scaram(o)uche	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 2243

I'm actually thinking about a sizable chunk of out of the money 2004 leaps. Someone please stop me. To date, I have a few (tiny load) in-the-money 2004s (plus a modest number of shares). Can anyone see ANY reason why one should be cautious under these circumstances? More Devil's Advocacy, please! -25- Elan Pharmaceutical Technologies Overview EPT is engaged in the development and commercialisation of pharmaceutical products for its clients. EPT offers innovative drug delivery technologies to solve the drug delivery and lifecycle management challenges facing the pharmaceutical industry. EPT’s drug delivery technologies can offer a number of benefits to both patients and clients. Benefits to patients include improved compliance as a result of more user-friendly dosage forms, improved clinical efficacy and improved tolerability. Benefits to clients include improved products (improved compliance, efficacy and tolerability), lifecycle management opportunities, product differentiation opportunities and the rescue and development of new compounds that historically have been rejected as development candidates. EPT has over 550 employees, of whom 460 work in research and development. EPT has developed 20 products, including 10 products that are marketed in the US. EPT’s top five drug delivery products had aggregate inmarket sales of approximately $500 million in 2000. EPT has over 40 projects in clinical development and has entered into arrangements with a wide variety of clients. Strategy and Key Technologies EPT has assembled and is deploying a toolbox of technologies that, when used alone or in combination, create ‘intelligent delivery systems’, which enable control of the fundamental processes that define a drug’s biodisposition, dissolution, transport, distribution and metabolism. These technologies can be employed prospectively to design ‘better molecules’ or used retrospectively to ‘optimise current molecules’. EPT aims to be the preferred industry partner for drug delivery services to the pharmaceutical industry. EPT continues its development of a comprehensive drug delivery patent portfolio designed to offer strong patent protection for its partners’ products. It has large-scale, commercial manufacturing capabilities for the majority of its technological offerings. EPT offers a broad range of proprietary drug delivery technologies. These include oral controlled release, fast melt, Medipad, NanoCrystal, gastroretention, transdermal, pulmonary, liposomal and “biotech” delivery systems. EPT continues to innovate in drug delivery through research and development of new technologies to deliver genes, antisense compounds and emerging molecules from proteomics and genomics. NanoCrystal Technology EPT’s NanoCrystal technology produces tiny stabilised crystals of drug substance which, because of their small size, dissolve more rapidly, thereby minimising the problems caused by poor water solubility. The technology is applicable to a wide range of dosage forms including oral tablets and capsules, injection, pulmonary, opthalmic drops, intranasal devices and topical applications. The benefits of using this technology can include enhanced bioavailability, faster onset of action, improved dosage form uniformity and proportionality, reduced side effects, higher dose loads and deep-lung pulmonary delivery. The first FDA approval for a product incorporating the NanoCrystal technology, a formulation of AHP’s Rapamune, occurred in 2000. MEDIPAD Technology Medipad is a lightweight, disposable, patch-like device that contains a microinfusor and integral needle to deliver drugs subcutaneously. An adhesive backing enables the device to be worn similarly to a transdermal patch. This technology provides controlled programmable delivery. The benefits of using Medipad can include improved delivery of drugs with a short half-life and convenient delivery of biotechnology products such as proteins, peptides and antisense oligonucleotides. Oral Controlled Release Technology EPT’s oral controlled release technologies have been successfully utilised to develop a range of marketed products. Some examples of the type of controlled release products developed by EPT include sustained release, delayed release and pulsatile release. The most conventional sustained release profile is the sustained release of a drug over 24 hours. Elan’s sustained release technologies are utilised in commercial products such as Cardizem CD, Verelan and Herbesser. Elan’s drug delivery technology can be tailored to release a drug after a predetermined delay. Verelan PM is a chronotherapeutic product which complements the circadian pattern of blood pressure. Verelan PM incorporates delayed release followed by sustained release. Pulsatile release in drug delivery technologies can imitate the effect of administering the drug at discrete intervals throughout the day, without the inconvenience and noncompliance associated with frequent dosing. Biotechnology Research EPT is developing technologies to optimise drug permeability and cellular targeting. EPT is addressing this delivery need, which is common to drugs and genes alike, by developing targeting ligand systems, new particle systems and advanced excipients to enhance oral delivery. In addition to the internal research programs in these key areas, EPT has a number of strategic collaborations with biotechnology companies such as ISIS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Targeted Genetics Corporation.

To: scaram(o)uche who wrote (1031)	3/24/2002 5:08:53 PM
From: Biotech Jim	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 2243

I was under the impression that MK869, the NK1 antagonist that was being developed by MRK for emesis and depression, was in Ph 3. Perhaps at the time of the release, it was in Ph 2. This mechanism for depression may not have the sexual dysfunction side effects as the SSRIs, but from what I hear in the industry the efficacy is nowhere close to the other mechanisms being either marketed or those in the clinic currently. There is solid evidence that the compound and this mechanism displays efficacy for certain types of emesis, including chemotherapy-induced emesis. Also, the nanocrystal technology sounds like it could really be great. Most companies making small molecule drugs run into solubility issues ALL THE TIME. Rick, do you have any more info on this technology, or any pointers to it? TIA. BJ