NEW YORK (AP) – Biogen Idec Inc. has had its stock upgraded by a Goldman Sachs analyst who believes that Biogen’s drug pipeline is more promising than Wall Street analysts realize.
Analyst Sapna Srivastava upgraded the stock to “buy” from “neutral” and set a six-month price target of $150 per share. Srivastava said Wall Street is enthusiastic about Biogen’s BG-12, an experimental oral drug that is designed to treat multiple sclerosis. On Feb. 28, Biogen asked the Food and Drug Administration to approve the drug, and Srivastava expects that to happen at the end of December after a standard 10-month review.
She said investors are not assigning proper value to other Biogen experimental drugs like dexpramipexole, which is a treatment for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig’s disease, along with two experimental treatments for hemophilia.
Based on clinical trials, some analysts think BG-12 could become the best available treatment for multiple sclerosis. Srivastava said sales could reach $3.5 billion to $4 billion per year. She said safety issues with Novartis AG’s drug Gilenya could add to sales of BG-12 and Tysabri, an older MS drug that Biogen helps market.
Date: April 4, 2012
Source: Associated Press
Filed Under: Drug Discovery
