NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- When Celgene Corp.'s (CELG) Sol Barer decided to resurrect a drug banned nearly three decades earlier, the lone analyst covering the tiny company dropped coverage and investment bankers "ran for the exit."
Despite that early reaction, Barer's plan worked. Celgene (NASDAQ-NMS:CELG) is now a $22 billion company that gets plenty of attention from Wall Street, and he's the chief executive.
The biopharmaceutical company's growth has included other similarly bold decisions under Barer, a former scientist who understands the mechanics of the company's products. The latest example of Barer's daring is buying Pharmion Corp. (NASDAQ-NMS:PHRM) (PHRM) for $2.9 billion, its biggest deal ever, which gets the Summit, N.J., company closer to reaching its goal of having a global pharmaceutical presence.
"The vision has been consistent since the early days," said Matt Strobeck, familiar with Celgene (NASDAQ-NMS:CELG) since the early 1990s and a senior analyst with Westfield Capital, a 1.4% stakeholder in Celgene (NASDAQ-NMS:CELG) as of the end of 2007.
Despite only being at the helm for less than two years, Barer - born in a displaced persons camp in Germany following the second World War - has been the driving force in Celgene's (NASDAQ-NMS:CELG) journey since its beginnings more than 20 years ago.
Investors have benefited from Celgene's (NASDAQ-NMS:CELG) hubris, as Barer describes it, as the stock has grown ten-fold in the last five years, compared to the 57.6% return from the S&P 500. Revenue has grown as well in that time, up to $1.41 billion in 2007 from $271 million in 2003.
"He is like a lovable mad scientist, but he has done an incredible job with that company from modest beginnings," said Rodman and Renshaw analyst Mike King. "He is not a prototypical smooth talking biotech/pharmaceutical CEO type."
Indeed, Barer looks like he would be more comfortable in a lab coat than a business suit - sporting a white beard and bifocals as he saunters around the old school building that Celgene (NASDAQ-NMS:CELG) calls home.
Mining a Dark Past
It was in the same building that Barer formed a group within Celanese Corp.
