Biotechs taking off again (VRTX, MYGN)
Great biotech news today in my portfolio on a couple fronts.
Vertex (VRTX -- click to register for free RT streaming quote) released more midstage data that confirms (with a tiny sample of 12) the effectiveness of VX-950, their potential blockbuster HCV drug. The dozen patients given VX-950 in combination therapy with existing standard treatment ALL had their virus count reduced below detectable levels (which is basically as close as we can get at this stage to calling the treatment a "cure").
Not unexpected news here, since VX-950 has been blowing people away since the Spring with it's results, but I'm very happy to see confirmation here in Phase II trials -- and especially that the combination therapy seems to be even more impressive than the monotherapy Phase I trials. It'll still be a couple years before FDA approval, assuming that there are no safety issues, but Vertex is certainly continuing to drive my portfolio higher and help make up for Google's recent dip. I haven't considered buying any VRTX lately since it's so hard for me to justify paying almost three times my cost basis for a new position, but this long-maligned biotech finally seems to be seeing the incredible pipeline production that we all expected from them many years ago.
Myriad Genetics (MYGN -- click to register for free RT streaming quote) also released information today -- earnings, in this case, and they were also very encouraging. No news on their drug development to speak of, and none was expected, but their primary cash-generator (genetic testing) is doing much better than expected and their cash burn is therefore much better than expected. Things are looking up -- but this is a very long term hold as we wait to see how their clinical trials shake out in the next few years. I'm getting more curious about Flurizan as we move forward -- I continue to expect very little from that drug, and the market seems to have discounted it pretty significantly since Alzheimer's treatments have been where small biotechs have gone to die, but there is certainly some potential upside there if it continues to show even tepidly good results in trials.
Vertex (VRTX -- click to register for free RT streaming quote) released more midstage data that confirms (with a tiny sample of 12) the effectiveness of VX-950, their potential blockbuster HCV drug. The dozen patients given VX-950 in combination therapy with existing standard treatment ALL had their virus count reduced below detectable levels (which is basically as close as we can get at this stage to calling the treatment a "cure").
Not unexpected news here, since VX-950 has been blowing people away since the Spring with it's results, but I'm very happy to see confirmation here in Phase II trials -- and especially that the combination therapy seems to be even more impressive than the monotherapy Phase I trials. It'll still be a couple years before FDA approval, assuming that there are no safety issues, but Vertex is certainly continuing to drive my portfolio higher and help make up for Google's recent dip. I haven't considered buying any VRTX lately since it's so hard for me to justify paying almost three times my cost basis for a new position, but this long-maligned biotech finally seems to be seeing the incredible pipeline production that we all expected from them many years ago.
Myriad Genetics (MYGN -- click to register for free RT streaming quote) also released information today -- earnings, in this case, and they were also very encouraging. No news on their drug development to speak of, and none was expected, but their primary cash-generator (genetic testing) is doing much better than expected and their cash burn is therefore much better than expected. Things are looking up -- but this is a very long term hold as we wait to see how their clinical trials shake out in the next few years. I'm getting more curious about Flurizan as we move forward -- I continue to expect very little from that drug, and the market seems to have discounted it pretty significantly since Alzheimer's treatments have been where small biotechs have gone to die, but there is certainly some potential upside there if it continues to show even tepidly good results in trials.
This article posted by One Guy @ 2/07/2006 11:02:00 AM 0 comments
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