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Biotech / Medical : Versicor (VERS) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: tuck who wrote (50)	9/4/2003 7:40:03 AM
From: Arthur Radley	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 83

Positive news release this morning, with milestone payment from Novartis. I purchased a few shares yesterday....IMO this one is getting ready to run...

To: tuck who wrote (50)	11/16/2003 3:48:12 PM
From: Arthur Radley	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 83

MICU: 3Q03 Results; Raising Price Target Ahead of Near-Term Clinical & Regulatory Catalysts — Reiterate BUY Darren Mac (212) 803-9012 dmac@fulcrumgp.com Vicuron Pharmaceuticals, Inc.# (MICU, $17.82, NASDAQ, BUY) November 14, 2003 Business: MICU is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of antifungal and antibacterial drugs. Vicuron has three compounds in late-stage clinical development, with Anidulafungin, the most advanced compound, awaiting FDA approval, which we expect in the first quarter of 2004 for the treatment of systemic fungal infections. # Fulcrum Global Partners LLC makes a market in this security. Decision points: • MICU reported Q3 results of ($0.36) vs. our estimate of ($0.45) and consensus of ($0.41). Lower-than-anticipated operating expenses led to the variance with our estimate. We are revising slightly our financial estimates for full-year 2003, based on a lower SG&A expenses assumption and a higher average share count resulting from the 6M share secondary offering. As a result, our fullyear 2003 EPS estimate is being raised from ($1.92) to ($1.78). We are not making any changes to our revenue or expense assumptions for the year. • Expect several positive near-term clinical catalysts. MICU is expected to announce Phase II results for Dalbavancin for treating bacteremia (bloodstream-based staph infections) and Phase III results of Anidulafungin for treating Aspergillus infections around year-end 2003. We view these clinical trials as being low risk, based on the level of efficacy observed with these compounds in prior studies. Dalbavancin has already shown significant efficacy against staph in treating skin and soft tissue infections, and Anidulafungin has already shown superior in-vitro potency to Merck’s (MRK, NYSE, $45.80, rated NEUTRAL) caspofungin for Aspergillus isolates. This increased in-vitro potency was also seen with candida isolates and has translated into improved clinical efficacy with Anidulafungin. • Expect favorable regulatory decision on Anidulafungin in 1Q’04. MICU has a PDUFA date of Feb 25th for Anidulafungin for the treatment of esophageal candidiasis. We expect that approval is likely, given the narrow proposed indication, but expect actual clinical use to be in more invasive candida infections. The safety database in the NDA filing is approximately 800 treated patients, which compares favorably to 612 patients in the Caspofungin safety database. • Anidulafungin looks to be very competitive in the echinocandin class. Anidulafungin has greater potency, fewer drug interactions, and better safety (less histamine release on dosing) compared to Merck’s Caspofungin, and achieves a wider volume of distribution relative to Fujisawa’s (FJSPF, $18.00, NYSE, Not Rated) micafungin. Additionally, micafungin appears to have an interaction with cytochrome p450, which may lead to future drug interactions, based on its metabolism. As Anidulafungin undergoes a cyclic degradation and is not metabolized by the liver or kidney, it is less likely to have drug interaction problems. • Raising price target from $21 to $26. Our 12-month target price on MICU shares is $26, based on a PE multiple of 30 times our 2007 fully-taxed EPS estimate of $2.11, discounted back for three years at a 35% rate.