Why Leo's $3 billion + target for Kevetrin is in the ballpark:

Shares of Celgene Corp ( CELG.O ) rose as much as 9.7 percent on Monday after a late-stage clinical trial showed its drug Abraxane improved survival in patients with pancreatic cancer.

Abraxane is already approved to treat breast and lung cancer and the company will apply for approval from regulators to market the drug to treat pancreatic cancer as well.

Celgene acquired Abraxane when it bought Abraxis BioScience in 2010 for $2.9 billion. The drug combines the cancer chemotherapy paclitaxel with a protein called albumin which Celgene believes helps deliver a greater amount of chemotherapy to cancer cells with fewer side effects.

Some analysts had viewed the price paid by Celgene for Abraxis as excessively high; but subsequent positive results of the drug in lung cancer, melanoma, and now pancreatic cancer, suggest the price may have been justified.