Lobbying Momentum to Drive Pharmacyclics Success?

In addition to hard science, lobbying momentum could be another catalyst driving sales of Pharmacyclics (PCYC-$131.38) new blood cancer drug Imbruvica significantly higher in coming years. The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN), which is an alliance of leading global cancer centers, issues recommendation protocols reflecting the consensus standard-of-care practices in oncology. Irrespective of formal FDA regulatory approval, an NCCN endorsement can be highly determinative of which therapies are reimbursed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and private insurers in a given indication. In other words, forget ICD-9 diagnostics codes.

In addition to the formally approved indication of relapsed/refractory MCL, updated NCCN guidelines now already recommend Imbruvica for the “off-label” treatment of refractory and relapsed CLL and other NHL subtypes, according to JMS Securities. 

See more at YCharts: Pharmacyclics: FactsBehind $10B Market Cap

Editor David J Phillips does not hold a financial interest in any stocks mentioned in this article. The 10Q Detective has a Full Disclosure Policy.