Biotech Stock Mailbag: Prostate Cancer Drug Reaction

Delores B. emails, "So grateful for positive, informative article on Amarin. Thank you, thank you."

Back to Dendreon, BertBean6 asks, "Where did the Victrelis royalty come from and is this a good thing for Dendreon?"

The Victrelis royalty certainly came out of the blue, didn't it? Dendreon booked about $3 million in royalty revenue during the September quarter based off sales of Merck's (MRK) hepatitis C drug Victrelis. The royalty rate appears to be in the single digits.

Oddly, Dendreon has never before discussed a Victrelis royalty, but it's origin stems from Dendreon's acquisition of Corvas in 2003. Prior to that, Corvas had entered into a hepatitis C drug development pact with Schering-Plough (now Merck.) Corvas, now Dendreon is on the core patent covering Victrelis.

Deutsche Bank biotech analyst Robyn Karnauskas estimates the Victrelis royalty stream to be worth 64 cents per share in her Dendreon discounted cash flow model. I've seen other estimates valuing the Victrelis royalty at $1.50 to $2 per share.

--Written by Adam Feuerstein in Boston.



>To contact the writer of this article, click here: Adam Feuerstein.

>To follow the writer on Twitter, go to http://twitter.com/adamfeuerstein.

>To submit a news tip, send an email to: [e-mail].

Follow TheStreet on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.

Adam Feuerstein writes regularly for TheStreet. In keeping with company editorial policy, he doesn't own or short individual stocks, although he owns stock in TheStreet. He also doesn't invest in hedge funds or other private investment partnerships. Feuerstein appreciates your feedback; click here to send him an email.

« First ‹ Previous 1 2 3 4