No Love for Vivus (VVUS) at Obesity Conference
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Price: $0.47 --0%
Rating Summary:
3 Buy, 6 Hold, 4 Sell
Rating Trend: = Flat
Today's Overall Ratings:
Up: 11 | Down: 18 | New: 17
Rating Summary:
3 Buy, 6 Hold, 4 Sell
Rating Trend: = Flat
Today's Overall Ratings:
Up: 11 | Down: 18 | New: 17
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Shares of Vivus (NASDAQ: VVUS) are fractionally positive Monday, but are not being helped by cautious comments from analysts at Brean Murray following an obesity conference last Friday. Analyst Jonathan Aschoff said he walk away with greater caution on the Qsymia launch than they had previously.
Under a best case scenario, patients will still be paying about $5 a day for Qsymia when including price markup. However, according to the analyst, there are numerous sources for immediate release generic topiramate and phentermine that would cost the user a fraction of this price. This is important given that most patients will be paying out of pocket, Aschoff notes.
Doctors won't be afraid to prescribe the generic formulation, the analyst said. "We do not believe that physicians would feel vulnerable prescribing off label topiramate and phentermine, given positive trial that showed 90% as much average weight loss as was demonstrated with Qsymia in Phase 3," he said.
Other worries from the obesity conference, citing by the analyst:
"Physicians at the obesity panel claimed that they would not be averse to prescribing competing drug Belviq in combination with phentermine because they see no increase in valvulopathy resulting from the addition of phentermine. The physicians also believe that it is difficult to know what drug will work best in a given patient and would need to test this on an individual basis, but that they would clearly not start any patient on an obesity drug that could exacerbate any preexisting conditions. Furthermore, the physicians seemed to believe that it would be reasonable to use these new obesity drugs for about a year and then suggest stopping therapy to see if the lost weight remains off, a view the reduces the likelihood for chronic use."
On the next catalysts for Vivus, an EMA decision on its European application
likely in October, the analyst is also cautious. "We are cautious on approval given the need for a meeting this month between management and the EMA and given that there is no broad phentermine availability in Europe like there is in the U.S., and given that Europeans are simply not as overweight as Americans, despite the currently rising incidence of the problem."
For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on Vivus click here. For more ratings news on Vivus click here.
Shares of Vivus closed at $22.63 yesterday.
Under a best case scenario, patients will still be paying about $5 a day for Qsymia when including price markup. However, according to the analyst, there are numerous sources for immediate release generic topiramate and phentermine that would cost the user a fraction of this price. This is important given that most patients will be paying out of pocket, Aschoff notes.
Doctors won't be afraid to prescribe the generic formulation, the analyst said. "We do not believe that physicians would feel vulnerable prescribing off label topiramate and phentermine, given positive trial that showed 90% as much average weight loss as was demonstrated with Qsymia in Phase 3," he said.
Other worries from the obesity conference, citing by the analyst:
"Physicians at the obesity panel claimed that they would not be averse to prescribing competing drug Belviq in combination with phentermine because they see no increase in valvulopathy resulting from the addition of phentermine. The physicians also believe that it is difficult to know what drug will work best in a given patient and would need to test this on an individual basis, but that they would clearly not start any patient on an obesity drug that could exacerbate any preexisting conditions. Furthermore, the physicians seemed to believe that it would be reasonable to use these new obesity drugs for about a year and then suggest stopping therapy to see if the lost weight remains off, a view the reduces the likelihood for chronic use."
On the next catalysts for Vivus, an EMA decision on its European application
likely in October, the analyst is also cautious. "We are cautious on approval given the need for a meeting this month between management and the EMA and given that there is no broad phentermine availability in Europe like there is in the U.S., and given that Europeans are simply not as overweight as Americans, despite the currently rising incidence of the problem."
For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on Vivus click here. For more ratings news on Vivus click here.
Shares of Vivus closed at $22.63 yesterday.
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