Replies to post #137903 on Biotech Values

[oc631]

aren't they partnered with J&J

Yes they are partnered with Tibotec/J&J on TMC435 and I can't give further details because I never read their 18K filing.



Instead of trading pink sheet stocks this is another option



http://www.interactivebrokers.com/ibg/main.php



I don't have an account with them (yet).

[mcbio]

On Medivir I don't generally go after HCV companies but it may be interesting. I seem to recall though aren't they partnered with J&J.

They're partnered with JNJ on TMC435 and the first of their pre-clinical HCV nukes. Their second pre-clinical HCV nuke and their pre-clinical NS5A inhibitor are unpartnered.

Does anyone know what economics they have and if their other drugs are partnered?

The first part of that is the $100K question. As far as I am aware Medivir has never provided any specifics on the economics of the TMC435 deal. This has me concerned that they may only be entitled to single-digit royalties; if they were entitled to double-digit royalties, why wouldn't they disclose that somewhere? Dew and I discussed this before and he's inclined to think they'll get double-digit royalties because TMC435 is a NCE. Obviously CRIS is an exception to this as they only landed a single-digit royalty for their hedgehog drug partnered with Roche. I'll read the 18K filing that oc alluded to as maybe that has more color on the deal. Provided the deal allows them to at least receive high single-digit royalties, I don't think I would be too discouraged.

The other point is that Medivir does have full rights to market TMC435 in the Nordic countries and it does sound like they intend to fully commercialize TMC435 in these countries on their own, thus retaining those economics.

[DewDiligence]

Re: Trading foreign stocks on the Pink Sheets

I suggest the best way is to manually do the conversion in price to US dollars and then USE A LIMIT ORDER!

I’ve bought and sold foreign companies on the US Pink Sheets (including NVS pre-2000) several times without any undue problems. Using a limit order is a must and one should also:

• Trade after the market closes for the day on the company’s home exchange. (For European companies, this means anytime in the afternoon NY time.) By waiting until the home market closes for the day, your trade incurs less risk for the MM, and hence the bid-ask spread will generally be narrower.

• Allow a small profit for the MM to ensure execution.

If anyone finds that this doesn’t work, please let me know!