All bets on TOBI

PathoGenesis Corp.'s Phase II data for rifalazil to treat tuberculosis may have caused the stock to drop $5.5625 to $48.5625 on Wednesday as investors expressed their concerns that PGNS would become a one-product story. But the company believes that putting PA-1648 on the back burner in order to allocate resources to trials of its TOBI tobramycin formulation is a sound strategy. Left with one product in the clinic, PGNS expects earnings from sales of TOBI in cystic fibrosis and milestones from TOBI trials for additional indications will be enough to drive the stock throughout 1999.

"People tend to sell first and ask questions later," said Wilbur Gantz, chairman, president and CEO. "1648 has a U.S. market of only about 25,000 patients and the compound requires substantial resources. There's no setback because the compound was well tolerated and had good pharmacokinetics. This is a clear-cut decision about priorities - more companies should be making decisions like this."...