The WallStreet Transcript, July 28 2003
TWST: As I understand it, all three of these drugs were in-licensed, am I correct?
Dr. Rubinfeld: Yes. Almost everything we have done has been in-licensed. We have a small basic R&D effort, but the focus of the company has always been to in-license late-stage compounds. By late-stage, we always mean a compound that is already being tested in people, not mice. We have kept that as our policy, and all of our drugs are currently in people.
TWST: What expertise does SuperGen have that you can enhance these products while other pharmaceutical companies abandon drugs that have potential?
Dr. Rubinfeld: That question is always raised and while we do not want to beat our own chest, the trick is to hire the right people to evaluate compounds, starting at the very top. I have a long history of drug evaluation from day one as I was instrumental in the beginning of the Bristol-Myers oncology business, and I sniffed out EPO for Amgen when I was a co-Founder for that company. I have been doing this all my life and I have since brought in people who can do the same kind of evaluation. At the same time, our sights are not as high as larger pharmaceutical companies. Big pharma is noted for their blockbuster products, and for them to even look at a product there has to be a billion dollar-plus potential right off the bat. Whereas in our case, we can look at a drug that has a place in niche markets, smaller markets, and then develop it. We have the time and luxury to bring a drug to market over time, but big companies need something immediately, ready to be a blockbuster on its primary indication. So I think that helps us, to get products which the big companies will not consider. Yet once these products are shown to be significant in the market and start to generate noticeable sales numbers, then the large companies become very interested. Nipent is a good example of this for SuperGen. The same thing could happen with Orathecin and Dacogen. So our expertise is taking a drug in its infancy and bringing it to market, but once we take it through the final stage, the big companies become interested again.
…
TWST: What are you doing to have your stock better understood in the market? Is it as well understood in the stock market as you would like it to be?
Dr. Rubinfeld: It is not as well understood. We are trying to create a positive trend. But the market is treating us like Missouri, they are saying 'show me.' They are waiting to see the approvals. When we get the approvals, the stock will be recognized. In other words, we are not going to be bought on hype, we are going to be bought on reality. If we get our drugs approved, then everybody will recognize us. If we do not get them approved, they will throw rocks at us.
TWST: Do you have any specific programs in place to get your message out to the shareholders?
Dr. Rubinfeld: Over the past year, we have disseminated a large number of press releases and held various investor meetings, conference calls and analyst one-on-ones. We are continually issuing press releases, because at our stage of development, each step we take is newsworthy. We will continue to release news, and if we get one of our new products approved, we will start to do quarterly reports and things of that sort so that we can update the shareholders. http://www.twst.com/interview/16170
TWST: As I understand it, all three of these drugs were in-licensed, am I correct?
Dr. Rubinfeld: Yes. Almost everything we have done has been in-licensed. We have a small basic R&D effort, but the focus of the company has always been to in-license late-stage compounds. By late-stage, we always mean a compound that is already being tested in people, not mice. We have kept that as our policy, and all of our drugs are currently in people.
TWST: What expertise does SuperGen have that you can enhance these products while other pharmaceutical companies abandon drugs that have potential?
Dr. Rubinfeld: That question is always raised and while we do not want to beat our own chest, the trick is to hire the right people to evaluate compounds, starting at the very top. I have a long history of drug evaluation from day one as I was instrumental in the beginning of the Bristol-Myers oncology business, and I sniffed out EPO for Amgen when I was a co-Founder for that company. I have been doing this all my life and I have since brought in people who can do the same kind of evaluation. At the same time, our sights are not as high as larger pharmaceutical companies. Big pharma is noted for their blockbuster products, and for them to even look at a product there has to be a billion dollar-plus potential right off the bat. Whereas in our case, we can look at a drug that has a place in niche markets, smaller markets, and then develop it. We have the time and luxury to bring a drug to market over time, but big companies need something immediately, ready to be a blockbuster on its primary indication. So I think that helps us, to get products which the big companies will not consider. Yet once these products are shown to be significant in the market and start to generate noticeable sales numbers, then the large companies become very interested. Nipent is a good example of this for SuperGen. The same thing could happen with Orathecin and Dacogen. So our expertise is taking a drug in its infancy and bringing it to market, but once we take it through the final stage, the big companies become interested again.
…
TWST: What are you doing to have your stock better understood in the market? Is it as well understood in the stock market as you would like it to be?
Dr. Rubinfeld: It is not as well understood. We are trying to create a positive trend. But the market is treating us like Missouri, they are saying 'show me.' They are waiting to see the approvals. When we get the approvals, the stock will be recognized. In other words, we are not going to be bought on hype, we are going to be bought on reality. If we get our drugs approved, then everybody will recognize us. If we do not get them approved, they will throw rocks at us.
TWST: Do you have any specific programs in place to get your message out to the shareholders?
Dr. Rubinfeld: Over the past year, we have disseminated a large number of press releases and held various investor meetings, conference calls and analyst one-on-ones. We are continually issuing press releases, because at our stage of development, each step we take is newsworthy. We will continue to release news, and if we get one of our new products approved, we will start to do quarterly reports and things of that sort so that we can update the shareholders. http://www.twst.com/interview/16170
