Biotech Values

[DewDiligence]

More on Exenatide LAR:

In #25414 I cited some signals—such as the lack of an SPA—that suggest Exenatide LAR may not be all systems go for AMLN.

Here’s another: AMLN has not yet selected a needle gauge for LAR.

Listen for yourself at 53:55 into AMLN’s latest quarterly CC:
http://biz.yahoo.com/cc/0/63750.html

Tom McGarrin, Merrill Lynch: “What is the gauge of the needle used for LAR and how does it compare to Byetta?”

A: “At this point we haven’t finalized the product presentation for the LAR program and so we haven’t disclosed—we haven’t even decided actually—what will be the final needle gauge for the product.”

--
It seems to me that AMLN may be contemplating alternative formulations for Byetta other than LAR. Why? Perhaps they think a painful needle once a week is not much of a convenience advantage relative to Byetta’s twice-daily (painless) pen. Or perhaps the clinical data for LAR that investors have not seen is not totally pristine. Whatever the case may be, something here does not quite ring true.