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

To: Henry Niman who wrote (16623)	3/6/1998 5:15:00 PM
From: Hippieslayer	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 32384

Did ligand take the money and run or did they select a drug? Some seemed to be confident that we'd learn of their decision this week. I guess not. BTW, it's very interesting to see LGND stay steady in a huge bear market (thurs) and in a huge bull market (today). AS I stated earlier, lgnd looks to be forming a base bewteen 14.5 and 15.5 range when it has never really stayed in this price zone for a long period of time. Anyone have any comments about this?

To: Henry Niman who wrote (16623)	3/6/1998 5:30:00 PM
From: Abuckatatime	Respond to of 32384

Henry, as the Reuter's article indicates, Leukine sales are reported as $40 million annually, not a small number, but nothing like the estimated $1 billion that AMGN's Neupogen (G-CSF) generates annually. Neupogen is used widely by oncologists to accelerate neutrophil recovery in cancer patients following chemotherapy and in patients with low white cell counts due to other disorders. Leukine hasn't been approved by the FDA for these more common indications. Hence the disparity in sales between the two products. In AML, Leukine is prescribed to facilitate neutrophil recovery and thereby help prevent infections, which can and sometimes do result in death. I don't believe it has any direct effect on the leukemic process itself. I'll see if I can get an oncologist's opinion on the comparative advantages and disadvantages of these two agents. In any case, an oral form would appear capable of generating 10's of millions of $$. Looking forward to the Science article. PS If Leukine should prove effective in treating melanoma sales could explode, depending on the efficacy. The incidence of melanoma, as most know, is rising and it is the most deadly form of skin CA. I'd like to see the final P2's on Leukine and melanoma. Perhaps P3s are underway.

To: Henry Niman who wrote (16623)	3/6/1998 5:35:00 PM
From: Pseudo Biologist	Respond to of 32384

Henry, from the paragraph below (taken from the Immunex link I gave Greg a few posts back) it appears that the drug addresses your second point (boosting neutrophil count or "myeloid reconstitution") rather than treating leukemia directly. On EPO, I read somewhere that the uses for which Amgen markets the drug would not benefit dramatically from having an oral drug (other than costs, of course), but J&J has rights to other uses where an oral version would make a very large impact. PB ******************* Uses Leukine** is indicated for use in myeloid reconstitution following bone marrow transplant (autologous and allogeneic), bone marrow transplant engraftment failure or delay, mobilization of and following transplantation of autologous peripheral blood progenitor cells, and following induction chemotherapy in older adults with acute myelogenous leukemia. Although Leukine is not currently approved by the Food and Drug Administration for other uses, it is being studied in a variety of clinical situations where production and/or activation of granulocytes and macrophages may be of benefit.