Seattle Genetics to Hire 100 Employees in Anticipation of Company Growth
April 24, 2015
By Alex Keown, BioSpace.com Breaking News Staff
SEATTLE – With a projected “good trajectory” in the near future, Seattle Genetics is looking to grow its staff by 100 employees, the Puget Sound Business Journal reported Thursday night.
Seattle Genetics, which focuses on drugs to treat various forms of cancer, including Hodgkin's disease, will hire researchers, biostatisticians and for various executive positions, the company said. The company will go on the hiring spree to support coming preclinical developments, clinical trial activities and continue the commercialization of its flagship product Adcetris.
Earlier this week the U.S. Food an Drug Administration accepted Seattle Genetics supplemental Biologics License Application for Adcetris for priority review as a consolidation therapy immediately following an autologous stem cell transplant in patients who suffer from Hodgkin's lymphoma and who have a high risk of relapse or progression. Adcetris is an antibody-drug conjugate that combines an antibody and drug, allowing the antibody to direct the drug to a target on lymphoma cells known as CD30.
Following the federal government’s action, Clay Siegall, chief executive officer of Seattle Genetics, said the FDA’s consideration represents a “significant milestone” marketing the company’s only approved drug to patients “following an autologous stem cell transplant who currently have no therapeutic options to prevent progression.” The FDA has a targeted action date of Aug.18.
Federal regulators previously approved Adcetris for the treatment of relapsed Hodgkin's lymphoma and systemic anaplastic large cell lymphoma.
According to the National Cancer Institute, common symptoms of Hodgkin's lymphoma include the enlargement of lymph nodes, spleen, fever, weight loss, fatigue or night sweats. The cancer institute estimates that 9,050 new cases diagnosed in 2015 and 1,150 deaths this year.
The news of the company’s expansion helped up almost a full point this morning from its open of $36.65 per share.
On Wednesday analysts at TheStreet.com praised the company stock for its potential growth. Although the company has not shown a profit, analysts say that is likely to change as the company is “on the brink of becoming a quality growth stock, as they attempt to morph from being highly speculative to being a profitable play in the very competitive biotech sector.” One factor that the analysts pointed to is Seattle Genetics’ working relationship with the giants of the pharmaceutical industry, including AbbVie, Pfizer, Bayer and Genentech.
Seattle Genetics is expected to report first quarter earnings on April 30.
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