Tarceva, a cancer drug with one of the industry's highest profiles, is quickly propelling OSI Pharmaceuticals
Unfortunately for OSI, that $47.6 million gets cut up. The company has partnered Tarceva with Genentech
Over the next few years, Tarceva is going to mature into a big winner for OSI and Genentech. With AstraZeneca's
The companies also recently reported that Tarceva is effective for the treatment of pancreatic cancer. That is a significant accomplishment; pancreatic cancer is incredibly difficult to treat. Tarceva will probably be approved for this treatment by the end of the year, and uptake should be rapid. Its use in treating two types of cancer virtually assures that the drug will be a major blockbuster.
For now, OSI is essentially the Tarceva story. But that's OK. Building a profitable drug company takes time; the launch of a small company's first drug provides the resources to develop additional products. OSI is beginning to do just that, with another three pre-clinical drugs moving into phase 1 trials by the end of this year.
For additional articles on the biotech industry, see:
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- A Biotech Value Play
- Has Elan Been KO'd?
- Pfizer Pfaces Its Pfuture
- The Best Company I've Never Owned
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Fool contributor Charly Travers is the Motley Fool Rule Breakers biotech analyst. He does not own shares of any company mentioned in this article.