Former Chairman and CEO of Celgene Believes His New Firm Can Become "A Substantial Player" in Biotech
(Thomson Reuters ONE) -
By M.E. Garza
No doubt, one of the biggest biotech surprises out of the starting gate this
year has been Medgenics Inc. (AMEX:MDGN). The stock ran big shortly after their
introduction to the market as shares traded from $2.08 to $16.43 in short
order-- an impressive run fueled in part by the company's extremely low float
and excited reaction by investors.
At this point the stock has begun to fetch the attention of institutions and
funds who are seeking measurable execution and clinical data from the emerging
firm. They too seem to have little doubt that Medgenics' Biopump technology-- a
combination biological and device product has captured the imagination of the
biotech community-- has the potential to quickly become a widly successful and
very profitable venture. Continued execution, strong clinical data and
discussions about partnerships with big pharma players are all in play at
different levels right now at Medgenics.
Medgenics' development of their proprietary platform technologies allows
patients to produce, within their bodies and on a long-term basis, their own
natural human protein therapy for the treatment of a range of chronic diseases
each with billion dollar applications, such as anemia and hepatitis C, also
attracted top notch seed investors who felt this firm could easily become a
powerhouse biotechnology company whose solutions can be applied across large and
rapidly growing global protein therapeutic areas that include: anemia, hepatitis
C, growth failure or muscular atrophy, multiple sclerosis, hemophilia, wound
healing, obesity, cancer recovery and on and on.
Medgenics' product pipeline includes: Epodure, produces and delivers
erythropoietin (EPO) in anemic patients indicated for the treatment of anemia;
and Infradure, a long acting protein therapy designed to produce a sustained
therapeutic dose of interferon-alpha (IFN- alpha) indicated for the treatment of
hepatitis C.
In the near term, the firm is expecting to push their pipeline forward in
various ways. In mid-April, Medgenics announced that it had filed an
Investigational New Drug application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
to initiate a Phase IIb multi-center, 100-patient clinical trial. The trial is
designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of sustained erythropoietin therapy
delivered via the Company's Epodure Biopump for the treatment of anemia in
dialysis patients with end-stage renal disease.
Managment has confirmed that their Infradure platform for sustained production
and delivery of interferon-alpha for use in the treatment of hepatitis is
awaiting final approval for two Phase I/II trials in hepatitis C in Israel,
slated to commence Q3 2012. That event has become a significant upcoming
catalyst for the stock given the enormous attention hepatitis C developers are
getting from biotech investors and Big Pharma in the healthcare sector these
days. Sources indicate that the firm is on schedule and that we should be
hearing news as it develops with the healp of regulators, most likely sometime
between mid and late August.
More recently, Wall Street took notice when Medgenics announced the addition of
Dr. Sol Barer, former Chairman and CEO of Celgene Corporation (NASDAQ:CELG),as
Chairman of the Board at MDGN. Some called Barer's addition "A fantastic coup,
given Dr. Barer`s long history of industry successes and accolades, particularly
the transformation of Celgene from a chiral compound research shop into a multi-
billion dollar international pharmaceutical force." Analysts pointed also to the
fact that Dr. Barer as Chairman and Isaac Blech, considered one of the most
successful financiers in biotechnology and founder of Celgene, have now a major
stake in Medgenics and together both have had very favorable results in previous
biotech ventures.
"This team has a history of infusing fledgling life science companies with both
monetary and intellectual capital. Medgenics is at a stage of growth where Dr.
Barer`s scientific and business acumen, regulatory knowledge, and industry
influence can only increase investor value. In addition, upcoming short term
catalysts in the stock may also set the stage for additional developments and
share price appreciation for investors," wrote one analyst who closely followed
Barer's career throughout his days as CEO of Celgene.
Given a rare opportunity, we spoke to Dr. Barer about his recent addition and
duties at Medgenics.
Question: First of all, do you see any similarities between Medgenics and the
early days of Celgene?
Sol J. Barer, PhD: Celgene's pharmaceutical genesis was the discovery of a new
therapeutic platform to potentially treat a wide variety of serious,
debilitating, fatal diseases. Similarly Medgenics is based on a platform
technology potentially applicable to a broad range of diseases. In both cases a
lot remained to be done but the foundation of a novel technology platform
applicable broadly encompassed both companies. Our challenge at Medgenics is to
strategically apply this platform to achieve the benefits to patients and
thereby bring the company to a new level.
Question: So far, Medgenics is working on Anemia, Hemophilia, and Hepatitis.
How broad an array of indications do you think the Medgenics technology can
address? Is this "the tip of the iceberg?"
Sol J. Barer, PhD: The potential range of therapeutic proteins is very
significant. One of our strategic goals is to pick the right targets to achieve
clinical results expeditiously and thereby bring the first therapies to patients
as quickly as possible. By doing this we can establish Medgenics' technology as
the state of the art in the delivery of medically important proteins.
Question: What made you want to join the team at Medgenics?
Sol J. Barer, PhD: I was intrigued by the science, the reduction to practice,
the breadth of potential applications and the enthusiasm and passion of the
team. I very much appreciate and value of the platform and the numerous
applications possible for the benefit of patients.
Question: You and Isaac Blech were both involved in the creation of Celgene. How
does it feel to be working together again after 25 years?
Sol J. Barer, PhD: Isaac is a legendary name in Biotechnology starting with his
involvement with Genetic Systems and many other companies. I very much enjoy
working with him and the entire Board.
Question: Do you think Medgenics represents a new paradigm in protein therapy
and why?
Sol J. Barer, PhD: The application of Medgenics technology has the potential to
impact both patients' health and well being as well as the economics of
therapies. These are primary issues in healthcare today.
Question: Why do you think Israel is emerging as a new center for biotechnology
innovation?
Sol J. Barer, PhD: Israel has been an established innovator in the medical area
with a substantial number of medical devices having their origin there. Israel
is a unique place with a unique culture that is very suited to innovation and
implementation. Much of this has been the subject of study as exemplified in the
book "Start up Nation" which details many of the factors including the role of
the military and the culture. Success breeds success and I think we will see a
continued flowering of medical technology companies and biotechnology companies
in the country.
Question: What was it that attracted you to Medgenics' technology?
Sol J. Barer, PhD: The breadth, elegance and the potential impact on patients'
health and favorable pharmacoeconomics impact.
Question: Do you feel the Medgenics technology has potential applications beyond
the 130 billion dollar annual protein therapy market, and if so, what are they?
Sol J. Barer, PhD: I can't answer this now. There are moving parts in play that
won't allow me to answer this question right now.
Question: Given that the technology is so adaptive, to so many indications,
analysts feel there is more potential for growth here than we see with most
other biotech firms. Are they are painting an accurate picture form your
perspective?
Sol J. Barer, PhD: I think it's clear that if Medgenics fulfills its potential
it can become a substantial entity-all of this will be based on the
applicability of the technology to many diseases and its impact on patients
well-being.
Question: What are the biggest challenges for the firm?
Sol J. Barer, PhD: Medgenics is still at an early stage in its development as a
company. It is an exciting time as evidenced by the advancement of the science
and entering the clinical and regulatory phase. The growth of any company
engenders challenges with respect to growing its human resources, dealing with
the increasing complexity of the organization, assuring for the strategic
direction of its focus and a myriad of other things. These are good problems to
have as it indicates the company is growing rapidly. I'm really looking forward
to helping this growth.
Disclosure: I am long MDGN
The full report on MDGN is available at:
http://www.biomedreports.com/20120801101001/former-chairman-and-ceo-of-celgene-
thinks-that-if-his-new-firm-can-become-a-substantial-player-in-biotech-as-
well.html
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Datum: 01.08.2012 - 15:03 Uhr
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