Question-and-Answer Session
Operator
(Operator instructions) Your first question is from the line of George Zavoico with Cantor Fitzgerald.
George Zavoico – Cantor Fitzgerald
Hi, everyone. Really nice quarter. Congratulations.
Randy Scott
Thanks, George.
George Zavoico – Cantor Fitzgerald
I have a couple of questions. You said the price went up 4.5%; does that make it around $3,800?
Kim Popovits
$3,820.
George Zavoico – Cantor Fitzgerald
$3,820. Okay. And when did that go into effect, last month?
Randy Scott
That is correct, as of July 1.
Kim Popovits
July 1.
George Zavoico – Cantor Fitzgerald
July 1, okay. And with more lives and more test results, do you have any plans to expand your sales force or to reach more physicians or you think you are pretty close to topping out there?
Randy Scott
That is a good question, George. We are just entering our fall planning cycle for 2009. I would say, as we have indicated earlier, we plan to hold the sales force where we are in 2008 but we will be looking very closely at 2009, both with regard to sales force expansion in the US and probably just as importantly for future growth internationally as well.
George Zavoico – Cantor Fitzgerald
You are suggesting you might look to hire your own people overseas, or through another distributor?
Randy Scott
Well, we have some marketing distribution programs, but we think international growth is going to be really important future to the company. So we are actually engaged in a process now of establishing plans for 2009 internationally and yes, that could include expansion in some of our own commercial efforts outside the US.
George Zavoico – Cantor Fitzgerald
Okay, and moving on to Bristol-Myers and Pfizer, it sounds like there is not a whole lot more to add beyond ASCO. You seem to be in the planning and development phase. You seem really – and then mentioning your only comment on what the next step will be or when the next milestones might be paid out or what they are?
Randy Scott
Yes, I think that is exactly right, George. We enjoy working closely with our pharmaceutical collaborators on some of the targeted therapy projects. We have now completed the first phase of the work with Bristol-Myers Squibb and ImClone around Erbitux, and we are in discussions with them about the next steps there. But wherever we are working in targeted therapies with a pharmaceutical company, of course it is very dependant on their timeline for access to clinical samples et cetera. So, you know, we will continue to focus internally on our own product development efforts and work closely with our pharmaceutical partners, but many of those timelines will be outside of our control.
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