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Biotech / Medical : Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (MLNM) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: fred hayes who wrote (1607)	6/5/2003 11:29:35 AM
From: Icebrg	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 3044

Fred My belief (stressing that I am only guessing) is that there was a time when the drug discovery gave a major competitive edge to Millennium. That is after all where the company got started. And that is where it made its name. But really, what alternatives were there? Apart from the 10-20 years' run-up period of the "normal" biotech to get its first drug on the market. Instead, as there was new technology available, Millennium was able to exploit this situation in the best of ways. Fast forward to "now". Today it seems clear that the research activities at Millennium is not able to support their part of the company's cost structure. Millennium's big customers in pharma should be able to do most of these things themselves now. And what used to be cutting-edge technology doesn't cut so well any more. These tools are now available to those who wants them. And research is most probably done more efficiently in focused research groups/companies than they are in an almost industrialised setting. Whatever competitive advantage there is still left with Millennium's research will most probably be gone in a couple of years's time. Now, it is so fortunate that Millennium has just established a drug, around which they will be able to build and develop their company for the next couple of years. The data presented at ASCO did look very good in NHL and promising for solid tumor settings. MLNM no doubt knows more about the situation as most of these trials are run in an open-label setting. So, the time has come to take the next step in the company's game plan. Remember, that Levin has always - or at least as long as I have been around - been talking about making Millennium into a biopharmaceutical company. Now is the time to take a major step in that transformation. With future revenue more or less secured though Velcade, Millennium can afford to cut away some of the current revenue generators (who anyhow don't generate enough of the stuff) and instead turn the company into a normal sales driven organisation. Millennium will also have the luxory (as it is becoming profitable) of being able to pick promising targets/molecules from academic research groups and cash-starved biotechs. They will be able to afford to behave like any pharma/big bio does. They will not need their own research any more to the same extent. They can let other parties do the mistakes in research and then pop by to pick up some cherries. They have of course to employ some professional cherry pickers. And they will have to beef up their development teams and regulatory staff. Although judging from what they achieved with Velcade they are already quite up to speed. Transforming into a more normal type of company will of course also help the stock markets valuation of the company. MLNM will start to look more like its peers and the analysts will feel more comfortable. As if a biotech analyst can feel comfortable at any time (ask Mike King or that woman at MS). This is my take on the situation and that's why I feel this this was a good move to make. Erik