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

To: SemiBull who wrote (1000)	8/8/2003 8:54:23 PM
From: SemiBull	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1139

S&P assigns ICOS Corp ratings Friday August 8, 1:02 pm ET (The following statement was released by the ratings agency) NEW YORK, Aug 8 - Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said today that it assigned its 'B-' corporate credit rating to emerging pharmaceutical company ICOS Corp. At the same time, Standard & Poor's assigned its 'CCC' subordinated debt rating to ICOS' $279 million 2% convertible subordinated notes due 2023. The outlook is positive. ICOS has approximately $279 million of debt outstanding. "The low speculative-grade ratings on the company reflect the operating losses and cash requirements of its significant collaborative R&D efforts," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Arthur Wong. The company currently has one marketed product in Europe, Cialis, through its joint venture with Eli Lilly & Co. Losses are expected to continue for the next several years as ICOS invests in its marketing infrastructure and the development of its drug pipeline. These risks are partially mitigated by the financial cushion of on-hand cash and the promise of Cialis. Bothell, Wash.-based ICOS focuses on the development and commercialization of pharmaceutical products. Cialis, an oral erectile dysfunction medication, is ICOS' most important near-term cash flow generating opportunity. The drug is currently marketed in Europe, and approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (News - Websites) (FDA) is expected in the second half of 2003. Profits from European Union (News - Websites) and North American sales of the drug are shared through a 50/50 joint venture with Eli Lilly & Co called Lilly ICOS. Cialis is poised to compete against Pfizer Inc.'s well-established Viagra and another newcomer, Bayer AG's Levitra, in the multi-billion dollar impotence market. The drug may be differentiated by its longer duration of action and serve as an alternative therapy for patients who find Viagra ineffective. Nevertheless, a fierce marketing battle between the three competitors is expected, and the success of efforts to establish a new drug as a viable alternative to such a well-known drug like Viagra is uncertain. Furthermore, while the FDA's approval of Cialis is expected to occur in the second half of 2003, an approval is not guaranteed, and access to the large U.S. prescription market is essential to the success of the product. In addition, even if Cialis is a success, ICOS is not expected to be profitable for several years. Complete ratings information is available to subscribers of RatingsDirect, Standard & Poor's Web-based credit analysis system, at www.ratingsdirect.com. All ratings affected by this rating action can be found on Standard & Poor's public Web site at www.standardandpoors.com; under Credit Ratings in the left navigation bar, select Credit Ratings Actions.