Silke
10.01.2001, 15:55
Einer der größten Biotechs steht seit mehreren Tagen ungewöhnlich massiv unter Druck. Nun Heute die Erklärung dafür. Da hatten einige wieder Ohren wie Rhababerblätter an den Wänden kleben - oder es ist was durchgesickert!
Wednesday January 10, 9:45 am Eastern Time
Celgene Earnings to Miss Estimates
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Drug maker Celgene Corp. (NasdaqNM:CELG - news) said on Wednesday it will post its first quarterly profit ever, but the anticipated earnings will fall short of Wall Street expectations due to lower than expected sales of its Thalomid drug.
The Warren, N.J., company said its fourth-quarter earnings will be about 4 cents a diluted share, while analysts surveyed by research firm First Call/Thomson Financial were on average expecting a 5-cent profit. Celgene reported a loss of 5 cents in the year-earlier period.
The company, whose Thalomid drug is officially approved to treat skin disorders from leprosy but used most often in cancer patients, estimated its total revenues for 2000 at $84 million, compared with $38 million for the previous year.
The company said revenues of Thalomid will be about $62 million for the year, more than double 1999's $24.1 million. It targeted at least 50 percent revenue growth for Thalomid for 2001.
Robertson Stephens analyst Michael King said the 2000 results were below his estimates and ``below pretty much everyone's estimates on the Street.''
The company said Thalomid revenues would be about $16.8 million for the fourth quarter, up 88 percent from $9.0 million a year earlier.
King said he had expected Thalomid revenues of $18.7 million for the quarter and about $64 million for the year.
Celgene shares fell about 12 percent to $20-5/8 on Tuesday on reports that sales of Thalomid would fall short of Wall Street's estimates. It rose $1-3/8, or 6.7 percent, to $22 in early New York Stock Exchange trading.
The stock is far off its level of about a month ago, when it closed at $64-1/16 on Dec. 8. It has traded in a range of $18-5/16 to $76 over the past 52 weeks.
Thalomid is used in certain AIDS and cancer treatment programs. Celgene in recent months has touted trials showing the potential for the drug's ability to reduce the side effects and increase the effectiveness of cancer treatments, prompting the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to warn the company about promoting off-label uses.
The drug, also known as thalidomide, caused a health scare in the 1950s and 1960s when it was used as a morning sickness treatment. Thalidomide caused deformed limbs in thousands of babies after pregnant woman took it, causing it to be pulled from the market until Thalomid's approval in 1998 for leprosy.
King said almost all of Thalomid's sales are from off-label cancer uses, particularly in patients with multiple myeloma.
He added that the shortfall could stem from tolerability problems, such as constipation or drowsiness, in some patients at high dosage levels.
Wednesday January 10, 9:45 am Eastern Time
Celgene Earnings to Miss Estimates
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Drug maker Celgene Corp. (NasdaqNM:CELG - news) said on Wednesday it will post its first quarterly profit ever, but the anticipated earnings will fall short of Wall Street expectations due to lower than expected sales of its Thalomid drug.
The Warren, N.J., company said its fourth-quarter earnings will be about 4 cents a diluted share, while analysts surveyed by research firm First Call/Thomson Financial were on average expecting a 5-cent profit. Celgene reported a loss of 5 cents in the year-earlier period.
The company, whose Thalomid drug is officially approved to treat skin disorders from leprosy but used most often in cancer patients, estimated its total revenues for 2000 at $84 million, compared with $38 million for the previous year.
The company said revenues of Thalomid will be about $62 million for the year, more than double 1999's $24.1 million. It targeted at least 50 percent revenue growth for Thalomid for 2001.
Robertson Stephens analyst Michael King said the 2000 results were below his estimates and ``below pretty much everyone's estimates on the Street.''
The company said Thalomid revenues would be about $16.8 million for the fourth quarter, up 88 percent from $9.0 million a year earlier.
King said he had expected Thalomid revenues of $18.7 million for the quarter and about $64 million for the year.
Celgene shares fell about 12 percent to $20-5/8 on Tuesday on reports that sales of Thalomid would fall short of Wall Street's estimates. It rose $1-3/8, or 6.7 percent, to $22 in early New York Stock Exchange trading.
The stock is far off its level of about a month ago, when it closed at $64-1/16 on Dec. 8. It has traded in a range of $18-5/16 to $76 over the past 52 weeks.
Thalomid is used in certain AIDS and cancer treatment programs. Celgene in recent months has touted trials showing the potential for the drug's ability to reduce the side effects and increase the effectiveness of cancer treatments, prompting the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to warn the company about promoting off-label uses.
The drug, also known as thalidomide, caused a health scare in the 1950s and 1960s when it was used as a morning sickness treatment. Thalidomide caused deformed limbs in thousands of babies after pregnant woman took it, causing it to be pulled from the market until Thalomid's approval in 1998 for leprosy.
King said almost all of Thalomid's sales are from off-label cancer uses, particularly in patients with multiple myeloma.
He added that the shortfall could stem from tolerability problems, such as constipation or drowsiness, in some patients at high dosage levels.