Boston, MA 11/27/2013 (wallstreetpr) – Ariad Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARIA) is not crippled by the suspension of its primary cancer therapy Iclusig in the U.S. A big of history about this is that regulatory authorities in the U.S. have raise red flag over the safety of Iclusig. The drug is believed to cause blood clots which can cause heart attack and patient who use it. The drug is fronted for the treatment of myeloid leukemia.
However, in Europe, the drug has received a clean bill of health from the regulators. However, the label comes with some warning regarding use in patients with history of heart conditions in which case physicians should perform thorough assessment before administering the drug.
The U.S. regulators may take the same path as the European counterparts concerning Iclusig. This is because the drugs efficacy is not in question, in any case, there has been pressure piling on regulators to considering reopening the restricting its use. This will be a win for the cancer patients and Ariad Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARIA) together with its investors.
However, if the ban on sale of Iclusig in the U.S. was to remain, looking at the profit margin of the drug and the number of potential users globally, it is safe to say that Ariad Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARIA) still has room to make significant earnings from the drug. The drug costs about $115,000 per year on a patient. Excluding the U.S., the company is looking to serve about 4,200 patients. These include 600 in Japan and 3,800 in Europe. It is important to note that these figures indicate the patients with resistance to the other therapy alternatives.
That being the case, ARIA is looking at sales of more than $500 million each year. And if the U.S. market is brought into the picture (those with resistance to other medication), with about 1500 patients, the drug maker will have about $675 million. It therefore goes without saying that while the U.S. market is significant for Ariad Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARIA), the drug maker can generate revenue to keep it going from the other markets as it address the safety concerns with the drug.
