Highlights of 1Q 2010 conference call

Here are some highlights of today's Seattle Genetics conference call:

- All systems seem go, thus far, for NDA of SGN-35 early next year and subsequent commercialization.

- Pretty routine review of other clinical development and trials, except for this:

Results from the SGN-33 Phase 2 trial will be delayed. Results now are expected in late second quarter or early third quarter. Siegall attributes this to delays in achieving the needed 186 "events." Poster Ricarduno has defined these "events" as patient deaths, an interpretation confirmed later during this call. In other words, patients treated with SGN-33 appear to be surviving longer than expected. If so, that is good news all around.

Responding to a question, Siegall advised caution in making too much of this at the moment. Direct quote: "It is a little bit of a dangerous assumption to make. It's very hard to determine anything related to the data so far. We're double blinded in the study. (But) we're excited with the program. We think we have a potential opportunity with AML."

- The company expects to end the year with more than $265 million in cash and investments, close to the year-end 2009 total of $287.7 million. Firm now has 300 employees; they expect to grow that by 15 to 20 percent, mostly in the clinical team to support the SGN-35 NDA and in the new manufacturing and commercial operations.

Asked by an analyst if they're investing enough in the business, Siegall said: "Isn't this a wonderful question as opposed to the usual questions bio-techs get?"

Asked by another analyst (who observed that SGEN clearly has enough cash now to get SGN-35 to market) about raising additional funds through stock issues, Siegall ducked a direct response. "We intend to become an important biotechnology company, making products that affect patients who have cancer. If we have enough dollars to go forward and we don't have to refinance..." He sort of trailed off there.

- Prospects for advancing SGN-35 in second- or first-line therapies remain good. Siegall: "We're excited about bringing this drug into front-line therapy. We're bullish on that. We're excited enough to be investing in it and working on it."

- Asked about SGN-40, Siegall said they are evaluating all their clinical data and "what a drug conjugate would look like." Sounds like it's on the back burner at the moment.

FROM YAHOO MESSAGE BOARD

April 13, 2010
Seattle Genetics target raised to $15 from $12 at RBC Capital
RBC believes Seattle Genetics has a favorable risk/reward into the SGN-33 data expected in Q2. The firm upped its target and maintains an Outperform rating on the stock.