Biotech Values

[DewDiligence]

EGRX—Bendamustine/Bendec marketing plans (from Stifel webcast today):

EGRX plans to market its generic “big-bag” (500mL) Bendamstine (to be launched 5/1/16) as a low-cost Treanda option for the 20% of US hospitals and cancer clinics who belong to the government’s ‘340B’ program. (EGRX has 100% of the economics on this product.)

Rapid-infusion “small-bag” (50mL) Bendamustine—the product Teva licensed from EGRX in Feb 2015 (#msg-110943484)—will be marketed using the brand name, Bendec. EGRX expects Teva to implement a “hard switch” from Treanda to Bendec as soon as Bendec is approved by the FDA (PDUFA date 12/13/15). This “hard switch” should encounter little, if any, backlash from uses (or payers) since Bendec is easier to prepare than Treanda and the shorter infusion time increases patient throughput at the hospital or clinic.

When EGRX launches its big-bag Bendamustine in May 2016, Teva will focus Bendec marketing on the 80% of US hospitals and cancer clinics who do not participate in the ‘340B’ government program. Thus, there’s a well-conceived plan whereby Bendec and EGRX’s big-bag Bendamustine can co-exist in the US market.

p.s. Now that the marketing plans for Bendec and big-bag Bendamustine have been explained, I retract my statement in #msg-118188817 that EGRX’s talk about launching the big-bad product may have been a bluff.