Medicis still optimistic despite its recent drop in share price
by Barry Cohen

SCOTTSDALE – In an April 12 profile The Desert Advocate wrote the shares of Scottsdale‑based Medicis (NYSE: MRX) “may be ready to soar, thanks to the strength of several marketed and pipeline products.” Since then, the opposite has happened: Medicis shares are down about 25 percent. Meanwhile the Dow Jones Industrial Average has declined only a little more than 1 percent during the same period.

But Medicis remains as confident as ever about its prospects. Company CFO Mark A. Prygocki Sr. called the recent dip a great buying opportunity. Moreover, he’s putting his money where his mouth is: On May 31, Prygocki purchased 2,000 Medicis shares in the open market. “Things couldn’t be going better,” he explained. “Purchasing shares on my own reflects the confidence I have in the company.

Prygocki attributed the recent drop in share price to some securities analysts taking a short‑term perspective and downgrading the company’s stock. The analysts were rattled when Allergan received FDA approval for its Juvederm line of skin filler, which will compete with Medicis’s Restalyne family of products. Prygocki said the Juvederm approval was no surprise, that everyone knew it was coming.

Calling the decline in Medicis shares “a temporary thing,” Prygocki said the company has a number of reasons to be enthusiastic, including the recent launch of Solodyn, an antibiotic to treat severe acne, and the closing of the deal with French drug firm Ipsen that allows Medicis to sell the Botox‑like drug Reloxin in the U.S., Canada and Japan.  Prygocki said it’s possible Medicis will launch another meaningful product before the end of the year.

Reach the reporter at barry@thedesertadvocate.com.