Dendreon Corporation (DNDN): This Cancer Drug Developer Could Really Use a Partner

In addition to these hot new medications are Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)‘s Zytiga and Sanofi SA (ADR) (NYSE:SNY)‘s Jevtana. In December, the FDA expanded Zytiga’s indications to treat late-stage prostate cancer before chemotherapy. In trials, it helped add better than five months to the median overall survival relative to the placebo. Sanofi SA (ADR) (NYSE:SNY)’s Jevtana — which ironically also got FDA approval three months early in 2010 — was approved in combination with prednisone and extended overall survival by nearly three months.

It isn’t difficult to see why Provenge is having a hard time gaining any market share, when the competition is mounting and the cost of its immunotherapy treatment is higher than all of its peers. This is why Dendreon Corporation (NASDAQ:DNDN) needs to swallow its pride and seek out a marketing partner now.

Dendreon’s likely partner
While it’s purely speculation on my part, I believe the most likely marketing partner would be one of Europe’s premier cancer-fighting companies, Roche (OTCBB:RHHBY).

To begin with, Roche (OTCBB:RHHBY) was unsuccessful in its attempt in to get Avastin approved to treat prostate cancer some years back. Not only did it fail to meet its primary endpoint of improving overall survival in combination with prednisone, but some of the adverse effects were also fatal. Forging a marketing partnership with Dendreon Corporation (NASDAQ:DNDN) would allow Roche an opportunity to make a difference in one of the very few cancer types it doesn’t currently have a foothold in.

Another intriguing aspect is that Roche currently has a PD-1 inhibitor in very early studies known as MPDL3280A that it plans to detail further at the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting later this week. This inhibitor is an immunotherapy drug that, like Provenge, teaches the body’s immune system to help it fight solid tumors better. Helping Dendreon market Provenge could be another way for Roche to beef up its immunotherapy portfolio.

Stay tuned as tomorrow I’ll reveal my third and final biotech company that would benefit greatly from finding a marketing partner.

The article This Cancer Drug Developer Could Really Use a Partner originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Sean Williams has no material interest in any companies mentioned in this article. You can follow him on CAPS under the screen name TMFUltraLong, track every pick he makes under the screen name TrackUltraLong, and check him out on Twitter, where he goes by the handle @TMFUltraLong.The Motley Fool owns shares of, and recommends, Johnson & Johnson. It also owns shares of Dendreon.

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