Ariad Pharmaceuticals (ARIA) has a fantastic growth record over the last couple years. With this in mind, a growth investor may wonder if it still makes sense to invest long term in ARIA. We believe there is one main reason it is a good idea to invest in the company. It is because of the drug Ridaforolimus.
ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the discovery, development, and commercialization of small-molecule drugs for the treatment of cancer. The company's lead cancer product-- Ridaforolimus-- is being studied in multiple clinical trials in patients with various types of cancers, including metastatic sarcomas, breast cancer, endometrial cancer, prostate cancer, and non-small cell lung cancer. Its product pipeline also includes ponatinib, a pan BCR-ABL inhibitor in phase 2 clinical trial for applications in various hematological cancers and solid tumors; and AP26113, an anaplastic lymphoma kinase inhibitor in preclinical studies for the treatment of various cancers, including non-small cell lung cancer, lymphoma, and neuroblastoma.
Continued Value Growth is Focused on Ridaforolimus
Ariad has continued to move up since early March of 2010, when it was priced at a meager $1.00+. Growth has been steady and consistent over the last couple years and we do not see it slowing down. Since October, we have seen quite an increase from 8.5 to its present price 14.24. The continued success of this company in the near future will be based upon the success of Ridaforolimus.
The development and research of this drug had a strategy in mind-- to destroy cancer malignancy in the body. Its goal is to 'inhibit' the growth of the protein MTOR. This protein can be thought of as the central regulator of protein synthesis and cell progression. It gets signals from other proteins known to be important to the growth of malignancy. If Ridaforolimus can successfully block from working properly, it can create a starvation affect upon cancer cells. This is the thinking behind the strategy of the drug.
Clinical Studies show Promise!
Since Merck (MRK) and Ariad teamed up together, clinical studies have looked very promising. In last year's phase III study, no new safety issues emerged. It is tolerated quite well as a drug, with a good number of patients experiencing what is known as stable disease, or SD. Stable disease signifies there is no significant progression or shrinkage. It's a good thing in a limited sense, in that we know that the cancer would be growing if left to its own devices. Keeping it from growing is better than what it would otherwise be doing.
People who have stable disease can live longer. When you look at a bunch of people who were treated and didn't have major shrinkage but had the cancer stay similar in size, they tend to live longer than people who didn't get that treatment at all. The cancer is still alive, but having fewer living and growing cancer cells is better than having many more. Fighting cancer isn't always an all or none game. It's great if you can kill every last cancer cell-- and if the only victory is killing every cancer cell, stable disease isn't a success. This is one of the driving forces behind Ridaforolimus' success.
Both the European Medicines Agency and U.S. FDA have accepted the new drug application for Ridaforolimus for filing and review. It was filed under development for the treatment of metastatic soft-tissue or bone sarcomas in patients who had a favorable response to chemotherapy. Look for possible FDA approval in 2012. With this in mind, we believe ARIAD will continue to increase in value this year. We believe a long term investment makes sense.
Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours.
