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NAVB Oldtimers Lounge
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The Life Sciences Report interview with Steve BrozakTLSR: I know you have one more name, an oncology-related company. SB: Navidea Biopharmaceuticals Inc. (NYSEMKT:NAVB) is a company we've been fostering, and that we have ownership in. Back in mid-March 2013, the company got FDA approval for its intraoperative lymphatic mapping agent, Lymphoseek [technetium Tc99m tilmanocept], a first-in-class mannose receptor [CD206]-binding radiopharmaceutical. It's used to detect diseased lymph vessels in cancers. It was approved first for breast and melanoma surgeries, but in mid-June of this year it was approved by the FDA for mapping lymphatics in squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck, making it the first and only FDA-approved sentinel node mapping agent in this group of patients. Lymphoseek was launched in early May 2013 by Navidea's marketing partner, Cardinal Health Inc. (NYSE:CAH). TLSR: Steve, this stock has been weak, having lost more than a third of its market value over the past 12 months. How has uptake been? Are the surgical oncologists using Lymphoseek? SB: The uptake is there and has been good, but there are clinicians who are saying what they've been using over the years is good enough. Well, it's good enough for them if they're not being exposed to the pain and discomfort of spreading cancer, and the earlier mortality that might be prevented. Lymphoseek is clearly superior. It allows for better outcomes for women having breast cancer surgery. The surgeon is able to see whether or not the cancer has spread and entered the lymphatic system. The difficulty for Cardinal Health is that Lymphoseek represents the twentieth product it has in the technetium-99 space. As such, Cardinal is obviously the partner that can distribute Lymphoseek, but the contract between Navidea and Cardinal has a time limit on it. I would tell Cardinal that it needs to understand that, yes, this product ultimately will dominate and control the entirety of the intraoperative lymphatic mapping market, but it may control the entirety of the market at the very time when Cardinal will lose exclusivity to sell it. That may be the leverage that Navidea has, ultimately, and Lymphoseek should become Cardinal Health's top priority. TLSR: Thank you, Steve. Always a pleasure speaking with you. |
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Msg # | Subject | Author | Recs | Date Posted |
13195 | Re: The Life Sciences Report interview with Steve Brozak | tonoos | 0 | 9/5/2014 3:03:54 PM |