BioScrip, Inc. (BIOS) reported third-quarter earnings of 14 cents per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 10 cents. The company reported earnings of 6 cents in the year-ago period. Although earnings were better than expected, revenues declined 7.2% to $333.5 million. While the specialty business contributed $279 million to revenues, the pharmacy benefit management (PBM) business posted revenues of $54.5 million.   The decline in revenues was mainly due to the elimination of the Medicare Competitive Acquisition Program and the termination of the United Health Group organ transplant and HIV/AIDS contracts. This was partially offset by increased sales of higher margin infusion therapies and other specialty sales.   The company reported a sequential growth of 3% in specialty sales with several therapeutic areas like iron overload, multiple sclerosis (MS), oncology and infusion therapies recording double digit growth from the year-ago period. The oral oncology business should continue ...

Early this month, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (BMY) announced the acceptance of biologic license application (BLA) for belatacept by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The candidate is in late-stage development for treating kidney transplant patients. The agency has set May 1, 2010, as the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) or action date. The biological product is being developed internally and is a fusion protein with novel immunosuppressive activity targeted to prevent solid organ transplant rejection. The company owns a patent covering belatacept as composition of matter which expires in the U.S. in 2021. We believe that the candidate can prove to be a suitable alternative for transplant patients in this market with huge unmet medical need. The market encompasses therapies that must be taken lifelong, ensuring a steady stream of revenue throughout a drug’s life cycle. Another attractive feature is that it can serve ...

Yesterday, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (BMY) announced the acceptance of a biologic license application (BLA) for belatacept by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The candidate is in late-stage development for treating kidney transplant patients. The agency has set May 1, 2010, as the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) action date. The biological product is being developed internally and is a fusion protein with novel immunosuppressive activity targeted to prevent solid organ transplant rejection. The company owns a patent covering belatacept as a composition of matter which expires in the U.S. in 2021. We believe that the candidate can prove to be a suitable alternative for transplant patients in this market with huge unmet medical needs. The market encompasses therapies that must be taken lifelong, ensuring a steady stream of revenue throughout a drug’s life cycle. Another attractive feature is that it can serve as ...