Biotech Values

[mcbio]

Re: ACHN

BTW, I saw that you have Achillion on your favorites list, and on the contest list for 2010. Their Hep C data was early stage, and the Hep C space is crowded, but I assume you were impressed? Isn't one concern with early stage Hep C programs that by the time they get to Phase 3, Telaprevir and perhaps others will be on the market, and then these early stage programs may have to run/re-run additional trials against this new 'gold standard' in order to have a chance at approval? Also, with Achillion, do you expect some new partnering activities in 2010?

ACHN is one of my largest holdings so I'll chime in here as well. Yes, ACHN's data is early stage compared to VRTX and its telaprevir data, but the valuation is all relative IMO. VRTX trades at close to an $8 billion market cap compared to ACHN's sub-$100 million market cap ( http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=44811725&txt2find=achn ). Also, the hope for ACH-1625 is that it can be a better telaprevir (no rash, QD dosing). Inasmuch as the goal appears to be moving towards an all-oral HCV treatment regimen, ACH-1625 could ultimately have an advantage over telaprevir in terms of co-formulation with other HCV compounds given its potency. Yes, the Hep C space is crowded, but it's also a huge opportunity and you can expect several competitive compounds under development now to ultimately fail.

ACHN has previously disclosed that it has been in discussions with about a half dozen prospective partners regarding ACH-1625. See: http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=43251923&txt2find=achn