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Schaffhausen, Switzerland, Oct 29, 2007 - (Hugin via ABN Newswire) - The biotechnology sector achieved a strong third quarter in 2007. Companies such as Actelion and Celgene reported strong results, driven by products which offer substantial benefits for patients. At the same time, the visibility of the sales potential of important drugs such as Biogen Idec's Tysabri or Celgene's Revlimid improved and triggered significant appreciation of the respective share prices.
BB BIotech's share price closed at CHF 103.50, up 12.7% (including the dividend) from the beginning of the year and outperforming the relevant biotech indices substantially. BB BIOTECH continues its long term outperform status relative to the biotech sector as a whole.
We have a core holding in Actelion, which reported strong revenues for Tracleer - now a blockbuster which continues to represent a major medical advance for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). We expect Tracleer will remain the cornerstone of PAH therapy, based on its proven long-term efficacy and safety. On September 2, Actelion announced the results of a clinical Phase II study testing Almorexant in the treatment of insomnia. Almorexant represents the first and so far only agent in a whole new class of drugs which target the key receptors in the brain responsible for the regulation of sleep-wake balance. Compared to today's other insomnia drugs, Almorexant is expected to induce a more relaxing and natural sleep pattern.
Biogen Idec's drug Tysabri - another potential blockbuster - continues to grow as the drug of choice for the treatment of multiple sclerosis. The company provided information to the financial community indicating that more than 100'000 patients are expected to use the drug by 2010. In addition, we believe that Tysabri will achieve progress over the coming months in the regulatory process of getting approval for treatment of Crohn's disease. On October 12, Biogen Idec announced that its Board of Directors has authorized management to evaluate whether third parties would have an interest in acquiring the company, what triggered a significant appreciation of Biogen Idec's share price. That move had been induced by the expression of interest by several third parties to buy the company.
During the third quarter of 2007, we increased our position in The Medicines Company and decreased our positions in Genzyme and Amgen. On September 17, the shareholders of BB BIOTECH approved a new share buy back program, which allows the company to purchase up to 2.25 mn shares, or up to 10% of BB BIOTECH's share capital.
A number of important clinical conferences will take place in the fourth quarter. We expect strong news flow from our portfolio companies, including the presentation of detailed data from the Phase II studies of the Vertex drug candidate for hepatitis C, Telaprevir, at the annual meeting of the American Association for Studies of Liver Diseases, as well as the presentation of important studies about the front-line use of Celgene's Revlimid in patients suffering from multiple myeloma at the annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology. Supported by these events, we believe that the strong performance of the biotechnology sector will continue for the remainder of the year.
This is the composition of BB BIOTECHs' Portfolio as at September 30, 2007:
NicOx Put-Optionen (short) <(0.1%) Genentech Call-Optionen (long) 0.2% SWAP Agreement on own shares 0.6%
Total securities CHF 2 703 Mio. Treasury shares (in % of company) 8.6% Liquid funds (net) CHF (279.2) Mio. Other assets 25.1 Mio. Other payables CHF (119.9) Mio.
The quarterly report is available on www.bbbiotech.com.
For further information please contact: Bellevue Asset Management AG, Seestrasse 16, 8700 Küsnacht, Switzerland Anja Stubenrauch, Tel. +41 44 267 67 00
Company profile: BB BIOTECH acquires holdings in companies in the biotechnology growth market and is currently one of the world's largest investors in the sector. BB BIOTECH is listed in Switzerland, in Germany and in Italy. The focus of the holdings is on quoted companies that are concentrating on the development and marketing of innovative medicines. For the selection of holdings, BB BIOTECH relies on fundamental analysis by physicians and molecular biologists. The Board of Directors has many years of industrial and scientific experience.
