Replies to post #2817 on Idenix Pharmaceuticals (IDIX)

[go seek]

IMO the biggest possible 'plumb' for IDIX in the near future (before EOY) is a positive read on IDX 184 from NVS or other pharma.

#msg-37320081

[DewDiligence]

Re: Cash burn

Do you expect any of the milestones from GSK to offset IDIX's need for cash in the near future?

Not to a significant degree. I expect IDIX to raise cash opportunistically during 2H09—see the bottom paragraph of #msg-37454545.

…they seem to be a bit of a cash-burn machine.

I suspect that you think this because your views have been colored by the various virtual biotech you follow. Those companies operate on a shoestring and try to in-license compounds cheaply—often the compounds that no one else wants.

IDIX is the polar opposite of a virtual biotech company insofar as it discovers its compounds in-house. IDX184, IDX375, IDX136, IDX316, and IDX899 (the drug recently partnered with GSK) were all discovered internally. I don’t consider IDIX’s cash burn unduly high for a company that maintains such a productive drug-discovery team.