Ted Tenthoff, Managing Director and Senior Research Analyst at Piper Jaffray & Co., Interviews with The Wall Street Transcript: Increased Biotech Productivity and Innovation Reflected in FDA-Approved Drugs
67 WALL STREET, New York - September 19, 2013 - The Wall Street Transcript has just published its Biotechnology and Pharmaceuticals Report offering a timely review of the sector to serious investors and industry executives. This special feature contains expert industry commentary through in-depth interviews with public company CEOs and Equity Analysts. The full issue is available by calling (212) 952-7433 or via The Wall Street Transcript Online.
Topics covered: Health Care - Biotechnology and Pharmaceuticals - Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Investing - Orphan Drug and Biologics Manufacturing - Oncology Drug Development - Orphan Drugs - FDA Approval Process - Reimbursement Trends
Companies include: Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN), Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorpo (VRTX), Cubist Pharmaceuticals Inc. (CBST), AstraZeneca plc (AZN), Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (ARNA), VIVUS Inc. (VVUS), Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (ALXN), Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD), Celgene Corporation (CELG), Biogen Idec Inc. (BIIB), Amgen Inc. (AMGN), GlaxoSmithKline plc (GSK), Array BioPharma, Inc. (ARRY), Novartis AG (NVS) and many more.
In the following excerpt from the Biotechnology and Pharmaceuticals Report, an expert analyst discusses the outlook for the sector for investors:
TWST: What should investors be looking at in your space at this point? Who is on the top of your favorite list?
Mr. Tenthoff: Yes. So kind of at the larger end of the market-cap spectrum is a company called Regeneron, which I mentioned. We actually first picked these guys up at $19 a share, about probably three, almost four years ago, with a "neutral." The stock came into $14 and change, and we upgraded it, and it's now trading right around $230 and has traded as high as $250. So it was a 20-bagger over, and it's really been one of the most successful biotech stories.
And you look at Regeneron now and a lot of that growth, it certainly commands a premium valuation because of what we've been discussing, but a lot of that growth has been from an ocular drug, an eye drug called EYLEA, which is approved for age-related macular degeneration and other indications and is in Phase III studies for diabetic macular edema. So we see opportunities for that drug to continue to grow, especially overseas where they're partnered with Bayer (BAYN.DE), which contributes a very high-margin revenue stream, royalty stream, if you will, from Bayer.
But why I also like Regeneron is they have one of the richest antibody pipelines in all of biotechnology, and it's - they have the opportunity to create multiple blockbuster antibodies over the next 10 to 20 years. So it's trading at a big premium. It's had a big move. Stock has actually settled back into recent lows in this kind of $230 range and again, that might not be an appropriate investment for all retail investors or individual investors, but it's a premium company that I think will continue to do well.
Two other ones, one would be a small company called OncoMed (OMED), and this was a recent IPO this year, and this company is also an antibody-development company or a biotherapeutic company, and they are developing cancer antibodies, and they presently have five early-stage cancer antibodies that are wholly owned and/or partnered with two of the leading pharmaceutical...
For more of this interview and many others visit the Wall Street Transcript - a unique service for investors and industry researchers - providing fresh commentary and insight through verbatim interviews with CEOs, portfolio managers and research analysts. This special issue is available by calling (212) 952-7433 or via The Wall Street Transcript Online.
