Important Upcoming Catalyst For Antares – FDA Decision Expected October 14

n a bit more deliberate than Jazz, but is coming along nicely. Antares started its royalty deals with a gel based platform, one being a royalty deal with Actavis, Inc. (NYSE: ACT) (formely Watson Pharma) for topical oxybutynin gel. Oxybutynin gel is designed to treat overactive bladder, a condition that affects more than 30 million Americans.

Additionally, the company’s multiple deals with Teva Pharma have also helped move Antares along. One such deal with Teva is for Tev-Tropin® Tjet® reusable hGH, launched August 2009, in which Antares receives strong margins on device sales, and mid-to-high single digit % royalty on overall product sales.

Also, Antares has deals with Teva for Two Vibex auto injector single shot disposable products. One is Epinephrine (North American rights) and the second is an undisclosed product (U.S rights) in which Antares receives margins on device sales along with mid to high single digit % royalty on overall product sales.

We feel if the Antares and Halozyme management teams execute their respective plans properly, both companies have a good chance to become full-fledged pharmas within five years, as Jazz was able to achieve.

• Conclusion

Antares has a product line of injectors that can be used with several types of medication which makes it very versatile as they can look to improve the delivery of virtually any huge drug already on the market. The company has partnerships with very accomplished companies such as Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) and Teva who continue to provide Antares with insight on how to become very successful. In the second quarter conference call, CEO Wotton hinted at providing additional light on its exciting progress with its Teva partnership and said the relationship has never been better. Beyond the five current products, there is a long list of drugs that Teva and Antares can eventually team up on including drugs for hepatitis C and multiple sclerosis. High on Teva’s list is likely to be a formulation of Copaxone that will provide a life extension to that product. Other product categories and key drugs that might eventually be targeted are diabetes (Humalog, Novalog), rheumatoid arthritis (Enbrel, Humira), multiple sclerosis (Avonex), hepatitis C (PEG-Intron, Pegasys) and anemia (Epogen, Aranesp and Neulasta). We will look forward to hearing further updates from Antares. We also would like to see confirmation of the Pfizer product still listed as “undisclosed” in the pipeline. At Stockmatusow.com, we have continued to speculate a possible takeover of Antares at some point in the near future provided the company receives the much anticipated FDA approval of Otrexup. With the advanced intellectual property portfolio, commercially marketed drugs, and advanced pipeline, Antares has the leverage to make a potential takeover advantageous to its shareholders. In addition, it has a very strong balance sheet and very sufficient cash for well beyond the Otrexup launch as addressed by Robert Apple in the second quarter conference call. Because we believe the FDA approval likelihood of Otrexup is over 90% and with peak sales potential over $200M, we feel Antares should be valued at least $800M, or over $6/share.

Additional Note: Call options activity for October and November are showing unusually high volume which we believe is very bullish.

Disclosure: Long ATRS.

Disclaimer: This article is intended for informational and entertainment use only, and should not be construed as professional investment advice. They are my opinions only. Trading stocks is risky — always be sure to know and understand your risk tolerance. You can incur substantial financial losses in any trade or investment. Always do your own due diligence before buying and selling any stock, and/or consult with a licensed financial adviser.