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Biotech / Medical : Ligand (LGND) Breakout! -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Robert Cohen who wrote (12639)	12/16/1997 12:04:00 AM
From: Henry Niman	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 32384

Robert, Thanks for uploading the article. I had been checking thestreet.com, but quit looking this afternoon. Looks like Jesse Eisinger also thinks that the street is a bit slow on the pickup as far a LGND's technology and pipeline are concerned. CNBC has been running alot of thestreet.com ads. It will be interesting to see if the article generates much of a response tomorrow, since the article came out after the close today.

To: Robert Cohen who wrote (12639)	12/16/1997 10:09:00 AM
From: Henry Niman	Respond to of 32384

Robert, Thanks for uploading the Jesse Eisinger article. The prices quoted make it easier to see how LGND could acheive profitability in 1999 even though the approved markets would be relatively small. I'm wondering how these prices would impact off-label use. LGND's oral compounds have shown activity in major cancers such as lung, prostate, and breast. The $15-$20,000 per treatment cost for CTCL seems high, but in line with other treatment options. What kind of costs are involved with treating (with somewhat effect oral treatments) some of the major cancer killers listed above? Would MD's be likely to prescribe it for off label cancer applications after favorable Phase II or Phase III data was released? If treatments are anywhere close to the costs associated with CTCL, such off-label use could create a fairly significant income very quickly.

To: Robert Cohen who wrote (12639)	12/16/1997 2:41:00 PM
From: Andrew H	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 32384

Robert, Many thanks and much appreciation for thestreet.com article. Overall, a well blanced and very positive and objective view of LGND and its bright future potential. It is very encouraging to hear the positive earnings statements from Robinson and Atkins, since they are generally conservative and do not go out of their way to tout the company. In any case, its about time LGND started calling attention to its pipeline since sooner or later Wall Street will catch on, probably when there is more success announced for the larger indications like diabetes, psoriasis, and breast and prostate cancer. Henry and others: >> Ligand says it expects to charge $4,000 to $6,000 per course of treatment and puts the number of patients at 22,000 to 25,000 in the U.S. << >>The company expects to charge $15,000 to $20,000 per course of treatment for the oral formulation. The current treatments for the CTCL, like interferon and treatments with ultra-violet rays, can cost $25,000 to $40,000 per course, according to Ligand.<< Looks like LGND is going to charge plenty for its treatments. Let's hope the patients and insurance companies are buying. Does anyone have an idea what period of time a "course of treatment" entails? Certainly LGND will not be able to command the same premium for less severe and more common diseases like psoriasis and diabetes (of course LLY will be doing the pricing on Targretin for diabetes). In light of the article I am wondering about off label use such as Panretin for psoriasis and Targretin for diabetes, once they are approved for KS, APL and CTCL. Does anyone know if it is possible to have an alternative pricing structure for off label prescriptions? For example, say a course of treatment with Panretin gel for KS costs $5000 for 6 months. And say physicians wish to prescribe the same gel to treat patients with psoriasis. However, insurance companies will not cover the cost because there is no FDA approval yet of Panretin gel for psoriasis. Can LGND sell the same gel for say $1000/course of treatment? Of course the same would apply to oral Targretin. Let's say LGND charges 15K/course of treatment for Targretin capsules for CTCL. And say a course of treatment is 6 months. However, for off label use of Targretin for diabetes or even for approved use, it is unlikely that LGND will be able to charge more that WLA does for Rezulin, say a maximum of $3600/year. Can anyone explain the marketing complexities involved? Henry, now that I have caught up with most of the posts, I see you have similar off label questions.