Sometimes 84% premiums really are deserved.
Bristol-Myers Squibb's
In the phase 2 trial, IL-21 produced a median survival of 12.4 months. The trial didn't have a control group, but that sure looks pretty good for stage 4 melanoma patients. By comparison, Bristol-Myers' own ipilimumab produced survival of 10.1 months compared to a control group that survived just 6.4 months. It's not a perfect comparison since different trials include and exclude different patient types, but the results certainly seem positive given the prospects for stage 4 patients.
The small size and the lack of a control means Bristol-Myers will likely have to run a phase 3 trial with a placebo control to get IL-21 approved. That would put it behind ipilmumap and Vical
And let's not forget that ZymoGenetics also has a phase 2 hepatitis C drug. If pegylated-interferon lambda can produce similar results to Roche's Pegasys and Merck's
Matt Koppenheffer wonders if stocks really are cheap.