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Biotech / Medical : OSI Pharmaceuticals (OSIP) - formerly Oncogene -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: tuck who wrote (272)	10/10/2005 6:48:17 PM
From: Doc Bones	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 447

[snip] By contrast, U.S. sales of Tarceva, a much-talked about cancer drug launched last November, rose only 4% to $73.2 million versus the previous quarter. Genentech said the drug continued to take market share from a competitor, AstraZeneca PLC's drug Iressa, but that its growth was slowed by the carryover of extra inventory from the previous quarter. ----- Products & Profits: Tarceva The product: Genentech's Tarceva, one of a new generation of cancer therapies called "smart drugs," blocks a protein involved in cancer growth. The purpose: Tarceva attacks only cancerous cells, leaving healthy cells alone, and is designed to have few side effects, unlike chemotherapy and radiation. It first hit the market last fall, intended to treat lung cancer, which kills about 170,000 people in the U.S. every year. The list price: A 30-day supply of Tarceva ranges from $845 to about $2,700, depending on the dose, at drugstore.com. The performance: Genentech reported a 56% gain in third-quarter profit. Tarceva sales were $73.2 million, up 4.3% from the second quarter but below the estimate of analysts at Merrill Lynch, who earlier this month said they expected sales of $77 million-$79 million, down from earlier forecasts of $84 million. For the first half of 2005, Tarceva recorded $117.8 million in sales. Genentech said the drug continued to take market share from a competitor, AstraZeneca's Iressa, but that growth was slowed by the carryover of extra inventory from the previous quarter. The small print: OSI Pharmaceuticals, which co-markets Tarceva in the U.S., is seeking Food and Drug Administration approval for the drug to treat patients with advanced pancreatic cancer and for those who can't have the cancer surgically removed in combination with Eli Lilly's Gemzar. An FDA panel backed Tarceva for pancreatic cancer in September, and an FDA decision on a broader use for Tarceva is expected by early November. — Mali Fleming, 10/10/05 WSJ Online