Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Biotech / Medical : Agouron Pharmaceuticals (AGPH) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Izzy who wrote (3176)	12/6/1997 11:23:00 PM
From: biao luo	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 6136

Here is the article on In Vivo: The Business and Medicine Report (September, 1997, Vol.15(8)), page 78 Biorbitrage ....... "Agouron, too, has done pretty well on the arbitrage front: Japan Tobacco Inc. paid it some $30 million in development and milestone fees for exclusive Asian marketing rights to the drug and for a 50% share of the drug in Europe [W#942456]. Then in January 1997, Roche bought the European rights from the partners for $40 million [W#972066] and added, in July, rights in selected Asian countries for another $6 million [W#972416]. All this would be business as usual for successful biotechs-except that Agouron didn't invent Viracept. The drug came out of Eli Lilly & Co.'s compound library, going to Agouron as part of the January 1994 wrapping-up of the companies' disbanded 1988 alliance." The publisher is Windhover Information Inc. I just wanted to share some facts with other investors. So long.

To: Izzy who wrote (3176)	12/7/1997 2:44:00 AM
From: Peter Singleton	Respond to of 6136

John, Izzy, If you're reading the VRTX board, you know I'm trying to understand more about the VX-478 compound, both as an AGPH shareholder interested in potential competition, and as a potential VRTX shareholder (I think both companies and probably both products will be successful). John, in your recent post you said: "In a recent tech letter, I read that Glaxo was not impressed with the 70% response to VX-478 nad was planning to withdraw from the collaboration" Can you give a little more detail. what was the tech letter and could you quote what they said. Izzy, in your post you said: "With an estimated 30% failure rate of the VRTX PI so far (besides the high reported drug side-effects), I understand that VRTX/GLX cannot even get people to enroll in its USA clinical trials. Their drug is a dog and you know it. I even doubt that it will come to market, and, if it does, I sure as hell won't prescribe it unless there is clear proof that it is a superior PI to all others on the market at that time, which I seriousl y doubt." You make a bunch of claims. Could you expand on them: - "estimated 30% failure rate of the VRTX PI so far" the PII results published in the press release 10/13/97 indicated that the 12 or 16 week data showed 70% of the patients undetectable on 400 ppl assay across the three dosing groups in combination with AZT and 3TC. The 1200mg BID dose (the high dose, and the target dose for the pivotal trials) had a mean 2.65 log reduction in viral count, hence undoubtedly a higher % undetectable than 70%. However, we weren't provided the % of patients undetectable on the 1200mg BID dose, just across all three dose groups (900mg BID, 1050mg BID, 1200mg BID). So, as I've said here and on the VRTX board, the 70% number may be misleading as a comparison of VX-478's optimal dosing compared to Viracept's or Crixivan's. - "the high reported drug side-effects" where are you getting your data. I know you're a physician active in this area, and have much better sources of info on this than most of us on this board, myself included ... - "I understand that VRTX/GLX cannot even get people to enroll in its USA clinical trials" same question as above. If true, obviously a material fact. Difficulties in recruitment always make me nervous. Just as an aside, how GLX got a PIII through the FDA and various IRBs with the comparison arm of the trial AZT and 3TC is beyond me. This is a trial that began in early 1997, if my memory is correct. I'd consider a head to head trial of any of the other PIs against saquinavir in combo therapy unethical (and of course unnecessary), but AZT and 3TC alone? This will generate interesting comparative data to Viracept and Crixivan who I think ran similar trials, but seems like a pretty bad deal for the patients on that arm. Peter

To: Izzy who wrote (3176)	12/7/1997 11:06:00 AM
From: PAL	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 6136

Dr. Izzy, you are valuable contributor to this thread, and just like you I am long on AGPH. Nevertheless as an investor, I would like to keep abreast of the competition. I feel that you are too harsh in your post to Biao. This Sunday edition of San Diego Union Tribune has an article on the front page of the Business section with the headline: AGOURON'S AIDS - FIGHTER FACING A CHALLENGER Massachusetts biotech readies drugs for market . The article basically says that Joshua Boger of VERTEX wants to give Agouron a taste of its medicine. Vertex hoprs to top both AGPH and MRK for PI. The drug Amprenavir is in Phase III clinical trials and could be a year away from the market. Boger claims advantages in nearly every area : fewer side effects, easier dosing schedule and less likelihood of patients' developing a resistance. Crix patients are told to eat before each dose. Viracept patients are instructed to always eat at the same time they take drugs while Vertex does not have such requirements. The drug will be marketed by Glaxo. Like Agouron, Vertex is a proponent of "structure-based drug design," which involves using computer models to study disease-causing proteins and design chemical compounds to interact with them. The article is sufficiently long and I always scored an "F" in typing, but I believe that article will be available online tomorrow. Of course if you are in Southern California, you might want to get a copy. The last paragraph of the article: "Analyst Edmund Debler of Mehta and Isaly in New York is bullish on both Agouron and Vertex, largely because he expects the market for AIDS drugs to grom to $ 5 billion by 2000" For online access: uniontrib.com Dr Izzy, what is your view of Amprenavir? As an MD have you had a chance to read what Vertex is doing considering that once you were a shareholder? Your input will benefit all of us. TIA Paul