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Biotech / Medical : Biotechnology & Drugs -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: SusieQ1065 who wrote (108)	7/10/2002 7:16:31 PM
From: SusieQ1065	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 232

16:36 ET IDPH IDEC Pharm issues guidance (30.15 -2.66) Announced that it estimates Q2 preliminary EPS to be $0.20, vs the Multex consensus of $0.19. Co says this level of net income was achieved through the combination of U.S. net sales of Rituxan totaling $257.4 million for the qtr, which IDPH copromotes in the U.S. with DNA, and U.S. net sales of Zevalin totaling $3.3 mln, which IDPH markets alone in the U.S.

To: SusieQ1065 who wrote (108)	7/10/2002 8:36:07 PM
From: 2MAR$	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 232

DNA posts Q2 loss after litigation cost (adds company comments, analyst comments, details) By Deena Beasley LOS ANGELES, July 10 (Reuters) - Genentech Inc. <DNA.N> on Wednesday posted a steep second-quarter loss as a half-billion dollar jury verdict against the biotech firm outweighed growing demand for its cancer drugs Rituxan and Herceptin. Genentech, which ranks as the world's second-biggest biotechnology company after Amgen Inc. <AMGN.O>, had a net loss of $213.6 million, or 41 cents a share. That compared with a year-earlier profit of $38.6 million, or 7 cents a share. Revenue rose 26 percent to $652.3 million. The South San Francisco, California-based company is on track to meet its goal of 25-percent average annual earnings per share growth -- before special items -- for 1999-2005, with a "floor" of 20 percent for the remainder of the period, Chief Executive Arthur Levinson said on a conference call. "The guidance was bullish. Rituxan must have some growth ahead of it," said Dennis Harp, an analyst at Deutsche Bank. Sales of Rituxan for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma -- helped by its growing use as the first choice for treating the cancer -- rose 46 percent to $274.9 million, exceeding analysts' high-end estimates of $265 million. Sales of breast cancer drug Herceptin increased 21 percent to $95.1 million, which fell within Wall Street expectations. "They are doing well. People have been very nervous in this market, but sales of both drugs exceeded our estimates," said Matt Geller, an analyst at CIBC World Markets. Sales of Rituxan, co-marketed with IDEC Pharmaceuticals <IDPH.O>, are also being driven by its use as a maintenance therapy, dose-growth and higher market penetration. Harp said he expects 2002 Rituxan sales to rise by a rate in the low to mid-30s, up from a previous 29-percent estimate. Genentech's shares fell $1.65, or more than 6 percent, to close at $25.50 on the New York Stock Exchange. The stock has lost 53 percent of its value so far this year, compared with a 52-percent drop in the American Stock Exchange biotech index. $518 MLN RESERVE FOR FAILED ROYALTY BATTLE The loss for the quarter included a $518 million reserve for a judgment against the company in a breach-of-contract lawsuit brought by City of Hope cancer center and a write-down of goodwill related to the acquisition of Genentech shares by Roche Holding Ltd. <ROCZg.VX> in 1999. Excluding these items, Genentech's profit rose to 23 cents a share from 19 cents. On that basis, Wall Street analysts expected the company to earn 22 cents a share, with estimates ranging from 20 cents to 23 cents, according to research firm Thomson First Call. Chief Financial Officer Lou Lavigne said he was "comfortable" with First Call's average estimate for 2002 earnings, which is 90 cents a share. He also said Genentech -- in light of the stock market's steep decline -- is more likely now than in the past to consider strategic acquisitions. "We would consider building on our areas of expertise," the CFO said. "Another good piece of news is that it looks like Xanelim is on track to be filed by year-end," Geller said. A marketing application for the experimental psoriasis drug was delayed after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's asked for proof that the drug being made by Genentech was the same as material used in earlier clinical trials. The company said on Wednesday it will file an FDA application for Xanelim by the fourth quarter of this year as long as results from an ongoing pivotal-stage trial using the drug made by Genentech prove positive. Genentech also confirmed plans for a fourth-quarter FDA application for its experimental asthma drug Xolair. Meanwhile, analysts are eagerly awaiting results from a pivotal-stage trial -- expected late this quarter -- of Avastin in combination with another drug in breast cancer. Avastin is an experimental drug designed to cut off the ability of tumors to grow the blood vessels they need to survive. "This is the first trial of Avastin as a combination therapy. Also, the time-to-progression endpoint carries a higher regulatory risk," cautioned Sue Hellmann, Genentech's chief medical officer, noting that the breast cancer trial measured how long it took before a patient's cancer got worse, rather than whether the drug affects survival. Hellmann said results from another trial of Avastin in colon cancer patients are expected in mid-2003. "They appear to be downplaying the upcoming Avastin data. At least for 2003, Rituxan's got to be the main driver of growth," Harp said. A Los Angeles jury last month ordered Genentech to pay City of Hope cancer center just over $500 million for royalty payments found due under a 1976 contract outlining commercial rights to Genentech-funded research that yielded a patented method for using bacteria to produce human proteins. Genentech, which plans to appeal the verdict, said no cash will be paid until the appeal process is completed.