Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Dendreon Corporation (DNDN) – Tackling Cancer: Prostate Cancer’s Biggest Current and Upcoming Players

Keep in mind that we’ve also seen numerous disappointments along the way. Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) discontinued its study of Sutent for the treatment of prostate cancer in September 2010 after interim late-stage data showed that the drug was unlikely to show a clinically significant benefit when combined with a chemotherapy agent. Amgen, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)‘s Xgeva, which is designed to prevent fracturing in bones, was denied by the FDA the right to even submit its new drug application for the indication of treating bone metastases occasionally associated with metastatic prostate cancer in April of last year. The key point is that even big pharmaceuticals have a difficult time tackling this disease.

Your best investment
For those willing to really roll the dice, Exelixis’ future looks promising given its incredible results in MTC. I’ve been saying for months that it’s highly unlikely that Cometriq would provide such strong statistical evidence for MTC but not translate over favorably to at least a few other disease indications.

For those of you who are looking for a more stable long-term solution, that would have to go to Xtandi. Even though Xtandi’s price point is enough to push some physicians and patients to use Zytiga, the simple fact that it doesn’t need to be combined with a steroid to reduce its potential side effects makes it the go-to late-stage drug. Decision Resources, a pharmaceutical-based market researcher, is projecting peak sales will hit $2.2 billion for Xtandi by 2021. If these peak sales estimates prove accurate, then Medivation is valued at just 1.6 times peak sales — a discount compared to some revolutionary cancer therapy highfliers.

Stay tuned next week when we tackle the current and upcoming therapies for the treatment of breast cancer in this tackling cancer series.

The article Tackling Cancer: Prostate Cancer’s Biggest Current and Upcoming Players originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Sean Williams.

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 Johnson & Johnson, Dendreon, and Exelixis. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended buying shares of Johnson & Johnson and Exelixis.

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