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SUMMIT, N.J. - After two decades of staking its future on the infamous drug Thalidomide, Celgene Corp. is branching out.
Celgene, an offshoot of chemical maker Celanese Corp., is expanding its portfolio. Over the next 12 months, it's expected to win approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for two new drugs. One of them - for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, a thriving market segment - could be approved before the end of the month.
Future sales from those drugs could quickly double or triple the company's annual revenues of about $400 million and reduce its dependence on Thalomid, the successor to Thalidomide.
''Today, we're in a wonderful position,'' said John Jackson, Celgene's chairman and chief executive. ''Going forward, we have an incredibly promising future.''
Celgene was started in 1986 by scientists developing technology to use enzymes to ''eat'' pollution in water. When they found it wasn't economically feasible, they moved on to study Thalidomide, a morning-sickness drug that caused grievous birth defects before being banned in 1962. Research showed Thalidomide can stimulate or suppress the immune system well, giving it potential to treat many disorders, and it can prevent growth of blood vessels that feed tumors, said Sol Barer, Celgene's president.
Redeveloped as Thalomid, a popular treatment for a type of bone cancer, the drug's steady revenues have helped Celgene grow into one of the 10 largest biotech companies in the world and bankrolled its research on treatments for cancer and other disorders. Celgene reported on April 28 that its first-quarter profit more than quadrupled to $48.2 million on record sales and a large, one-time income tax benefit; profits rose 110 percent to $19 million without the benefit. Revenues for the quarter jumped 35 percent to $112 million, and Celgene said it expects total 2005 revenues of around $525 million.
The company's stock price has climbed steadily for the past three years and closed last week at $39.42, just off its historical high of $40.90.
Those numbers could improve if the FDA gives its approval to two Celgene drugs in the pipeline.
Celgene is awaiting a decision on Focalin XR, an extended-release drug for ADHD, a $3 billion-a-year market. The long-acting drugs are widely preferred because they limit between-dose behavior problems and children don't have to go to the school nurse for an afternoon pill. Celgene manufactures the original, twice-a-day version of Focalin for Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis, which created the first ADHD drug, Ritalin, decades ago.
Focalin XR appears to have the same efficacy as Ritalin and fewer side effects, said Sherie Novotny, a child and adolescent psychiatrist and associate professor of psychiatry at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Brunswick.
She said her patients on regular Focalin will be thrilled to have a drug they only take once a day.