BUSINESSWEEK ONLINE : DECEMBER 11, 2000 ISSUE
BUSINESSWEEK INVESTOR -- INSIDE WALL STREET Perking Things Up at Orphan Medical Orphan Medical (ORPH), which has been working on remedies for narcolepsy, may have a new drug that's--well, a sleeper. The Food & Drug Administration has granted ''priority review status'' to Xyrem, which treats extreme daytime sleepiness related to narcolepsy. Such status commits the FDA to completing the review in six months. Orphan filed for approval on Oct. 2. ''Assuming timely FDA approval, Xyrem could be on the market by mid-2001,'' says Ernest Andberg, an analyst at investment firm R.J. Steichen in Minneapolis, who rates Orphan a strong buy. He figures the company will be in the black by 2002, earning 16 cents a share on estimated sales of $30 million. After 2002, Andberg says, Orphan's potential sales are limited only by how fast Xyrem can penetrate the narcolepsy market. Also high on Orphan is Michael Scheffery, a general partner at OrbiMed Advisors, which invests all its assets of $2.5 billion in biotechs and drug stocks. ''We invest in companies that have drugs with the potential of producing sustainable profits,'' says Scheffery. ''Orphan is such a company--whose Xyrem alone could drive it to huge profitability,'' he says. Orphan has five other products on the market, including an injection for patients preparing to undergo bone-marrow transplants. (BW--Oct. 23). Scheffery expects the stock, now at 13 7/8, to more than double within a year. BY GENE G. MARCIAL _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ BACK TO TOP					RELATED ITEMS Perking Things Up at Orphan Medical CHART: Not So Sleepy INTERACT E-Mail to Business Week Online

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