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Provenge-Maker Sued for Fraud, Lays Off 500 Staff

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Posted 9/29/2011 6:09 PM (GMT 0)

FYI:

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/750610

>> The latest troubles involve the company's chief executive officer, Mitchell Gold, and other company executives; they are being sued for stock fraud. Members of the management team sold $87 million of stock in the months before reporting disappointing Provenge sales figures, according a report from BNET, the CBS Interactive Business Network.

>> At the root of all these problems is the disappointing clinical uptake of the Provenge. Clinicians are reportedly concerned about being reimbursed by Medicare for the treatment, which costs $93,000 per patient.

Best to all,

- MichGuy

Posted 9/29/2011 6:43 PM (GMT 0)
I think there is more to this story on the low demand. Medicare said early on that they would pay as did other insurers. I think most patients are not convinced that there is value for the money paid. By the way my doctor said it would cost $130,000 at his practice.


Don
Posted 9/29/2011 6:51 PM (GMT 0)
Don,
Your doctor has a nice markup. I wish I could hold those margins these days...

Provenge does work but not on everybody. Dendreon is not doing as well as they had hoped in the financials even with the 93k price tag. This stuff won't help either...

Tony
Posted 9/30/2011 12:25 PM (GMT 0)
Not surprized at what goes on in the medical world. Zytiga pills cost $5,300 a month approx., target same enzyme as Keto drug (cyp17), only Keto costs as low as $130 a month for 90 count of pills. Both use Prednisone, both can work, hopefully the re-engineered new patented Zytiga is much better and worth the way inflated price tag. This is our future now, marketeers have found what they can get away with....enjoy.

Nobody is cashing in on patients. (lol)
Posted 9/30/2011 1:57 PM (GMT 0)
The fraud is more evidence that CEO pay is out of whack.
Sure, research is risky. But taxpayers are already helping mitigate the risk through research grants.
Anyone who says the guys earned these payments forget it was taken from investors, pension funds, retiree pension, customers, etc. Also 500 people are now on the street.
Maybe we need a rule that says CEOs et. al. can't sell stock until 5 years after leaving the company.

This kind of behavior makes my prostate boil. ;-)
J
Posted 9/30/2011 3:09 PM (GMT 0)
You look at the stock price for the company (DNDN) and you see the following. It was about $1 a share in March 2009 before the announcement that Medicare (and thus private insurers as well) would pay the $93,000 cost. Within days in April 2009 it moved to $22 a share, then by April 2010 over $50 a share. Along comes Zytiga. Then in July 2011 the concerns over earnings because sales weren't there due to doctors having the buy the drug upfront then get reimbursed by insurance and the stock dropped from $40 to $10 literally overnight. It is now at $9.

In the ramp up for production several new plants were built, including one here in Atlanta. I haven't seen any local news of the status of the plant.
Posted 9/30/2011 7:31 PM (GMT 0)
The Healthcare Economist periodical has an interesting article about bring new drugs to market. Typical costs (including covering the cost of failed drugs) from Phase I-to-market release is $800M, and takes 90 months.
Posted 9/30/2011 7:40 PM (GMT 0)
Sometimes when I access this page, I get a Provenge advertisement along the side. Ironic conflict of interest?
Posted 9/30/2011 8:11 PM (GMT 0)

DJBearGuy said...
Ironic conflict of interest?

Methinks it's neither ironic, nor a conflict...

Posted 9/30/2011 10:30 PM (GMT 0)
As someone with a bit of knowledge on the matter (www.fontainesdomains.com) - I would wager (as an ex 21 and dice dealer) that the ads that appear on the side are contextual.. and are, as Casey suggests, neither ironic nor a conflict of interest.

You would expect cancer/ and or prostate ads to appear in such a forum - because those are the types of words used in the forum.

In some cases they may be useful and or relevant to the viewer.
In others, such as this, it may simply be adding insult to injury since this websites's owners are likely NEVER going to be paid for them, being that it appears many more on the food chain will be collecting from the Provenge people, until, alas, there is nothing left.

So yeas, there is SOME irony, but not in the sense of there being a coincidence that Provenge owners would be on a pca forum.

Hey, Great thougts to all my fellow pca peeps.
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