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

To: LemurHouse who wrote (258)	11/19/1998 4:57:00 PM
From: Toni Wheeler	Respond to of 656

This may explain your query...read thru entire article: Message 6487461 Hopefully, they can save the world! ~T.

To: LemurHouse who wrote (258)	11/19/1998 7:05:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Respond to of 656

Andrew, you may wish to read this which is the reason for today's move: Message 6486199 An earlier post on HMOs coverage: Message 6456672

To: LemurHouse who wrote (258)	11/19/1998 7:18:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Respond to of 656

Immunex Shares Rise on Investor Hopes for Drug Launch (Update2) Bloomberg News November 19, 1998, 6:03 p.m. ET Immunex Shares Rise on Investor Hopes for Drug Launch (Update2) (Adds analyst comment, closes shares.) Washington, Nov. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Immunex Corp. shares rose as much as 19 percent, driven by investor optimism about initial sales of its recently-approved Enbrel rheumatoid arthritis drug. Shares in the Seattle, Washington-based company rose 9 7/16 to close at 86 15/16 in trading of more than 2.3 million shares, four times its three-month daily average. Earlier, shares touched a 52-week high of 91 7/8. The rise was driven in part by increased confidence that doctor and patient demand will be strong for Enbrel, approved this month by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Immunex disclosed in one of its regulatory filings how much it will spend to build its inventory of the drug -- which may be a sign that demand is robust. Immunex has made ''significant purchase commitments to the contract manufacturer for inventory of Enbrel totaling approximately $104 million at Sept. 30,'' the company said in its quarterly filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Salomon Smith Barney analyst Meirav Chovav said she expects to raise her sales estimates for Enbrel ''significantly'' from her current estimate of $125 million in 1999. Chovav, who has a ''buy'' rating on the stock, also said she plans to raise her earnings-per-share estimates and her price target for the Immunex ''shortly.'' The filing ''implies that the company expects to sell at least $250 million of Enbrel in 1999,'' Chovav said in a report issued this afternoon. ''This is significantly higher than our current estimate.'' Immunex officials declined comment on the stock's activity, though they did say the company is pleased with early sales. ''The launch of Enbrel has gone exceedingly well,'' said Tim Warner, a spokesman for the company. Still, the purchase commitments are an indication of company expectations, rather than actual Enbrel sales, said Scott Sacane, an analyst with NationsBanc Montgomery Securities. ''We really haven't heard anything specific in regards to launch numbers'' for Enbrel, Sacane said. Sacane has a ''sell'' rating on Immunex' stock because he thinks the expectations for its sales potential are overly high. ''The good news now is we don't have to wait long (to see) how much they can sell,'' Sacane said. Shares in Immunex have risen from a 52-week low of 49 7/8 in early October -- about a month before the drug was cleared for sale -- to today's year-long high of 91 7/8. Analysts have said in the past that Enbrel's annual peak sales could top $1 billion. Even by the most conservative of sales estimates, Enbrel would bring in more than eight times the revenue seen last year from all of the company's seven drugs, which include the cancer treatment Novantrone. Enbrel will initially compete with older drugs and Hoechst AG's Arava, an oral treatment recently approved to slow the progression of rheumatoid arthritis. Centocor Inc., a biotechnology company with three products on the market, is also seeking approval to market its Crohn's disease drug Remicade as a rheumatoid-arthritis treatment. --Kristin Reed in Washington (202) 624-1858 with reporting by

To: LemurHouse who wrote (258)	11/19/1998 7:57:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Respond to of 656

15:54 T =Immunex Stock -2: Reimbursement Environment Looks Positive NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Immunex Corp. (IMNX) shares soared 14% Thursday, a move analysts attributed to a short squeeze and enthusiasm about the company's recently launched arthritis drug Enbrel. Industry observers said short sellers are trying to cover their positions prior to the initial release Monday of Enbrel prescription data. "It appears we have a short squeeze going on," said Lehman Brothers Inc. analyst Matthew Murray. Kurt Von Emster, a portfolio manger for Franklin Global Healthcare Fund, agreed. "It doesn't take much to get a stock moving up when people get scared," he said. Murray said Lehman is telling clients that Immunex has a rather large short position. The company's short position was 3.1 million shares as of Oct. 26, up 50% from 2 million shares on Sept. 24, Murray said. Immunex has about 40 million shares outstanding. The stock increase follows the Food and Drug Administration's approval early this month of Enbrel for rheumatoid arthritis, one of the most severe forms of arthritis. The high-priced drug, touted as an effective treatment with few side effects, is being co-marketed by Immunex and American Home Products Corp. (AHP). The stock surge also follows last week's American College of Rheumatology meeting in San Diego, where a number of pharmaceutical firms, including Immunex, presented data on arthritis treatments. Deutsche Bank Securities analysts Alex To said doctors attending the meeting were "very enthusiastic" about Enbrel. "Any suggestions that Enbrel may dominate over competing therapies in the near-term is sufficient to produce this kind of (stock) showing," said Mehta Partners analyst Akhtar Samad. Von Emster said Immunex is already seeing Medicare reimbursements for Enbrel, a good sign that reimbursement might not be a hindrance to product sales. "I think the initial uptake of the drug is going to go fairly strong," he said. (MORE) DOW JONES NEWS 11-19-98 03:54 PM

To: LemurHouse who wrote (258)	11/19/1998 8:00:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Respond to of 656

16:37 T CNBC's FABER REPORT: Immunex May See Strong Enbrel Sales On now to a Faber File. Shares of Immunex are soaring today. The company, fresh from gaining approval for its arthritis drug Enbrel, appears to be getting ready for sales of the drug well in excess of those expected by Wall Street analysts. In its latest quarterly filing, Immunex says it has committed to purchase $104 million worth of Enbrel from the company manufacturing the drug for Immunex. Since Immunex sells the drug for about five times its manufacturing cost, one large investor in the company tells me it's clear Immunex expects sales that would outpace even the most optimistic analyst forecast. Analysts had expected Immunex to order about $35 million worth of the drug and sell as much as $250 million in the next year. A company spokesman said Immunex is heartened by Enbrel's initial launch and feedback from the reimbursement community has been upbeat." (END) DOW JONES NEWS 11-19-98

To: LemurHouse who wrote (258)	11/19/1998 8:02:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 656

16:46 T =Immunex Stk -3: Enbrel Being Explored For Added Indications Medicare does not reimburse for home use drugs. But Enbrel, which is a self injection, has already had some Medicare reimbursement on a case-by-case basis in certain states, Franklin Global Healthcare Fund's Von Emster said. An Immunex spokesman said the company, which doesn't comment on stock fluctuations, hasn't made any news announcements Thursday. Enbrel was approved Nov. 2 and launched simultaneously. The drug is being explored for added indications, including use for juvenile rheumatoid arthritis and congestive heart failure. -Melanie Trottman 201-938-5287 (END) DOW JONES NEWS 11-19-98 04:46 PM