Here's what the NY Times had to say about ENMD and Biotechs this morning:
By LAWRENCE M. FISHER
Some small biotechnology companies that have watched the big drug stocks soar over the last
year had their turn Monday as hopes grew for a new cancer treatment.
The catalyst was Entremed Inc.; its shares skyrocketed on news that the company had two
compounds in development that in combination could eradicate human tumors in laboratory mice. An
article on the findings appeared in The New York Times on Sunday.
Stock analysts sought to remind investors Monday that other drugs successful in the laboratory had
failed in humans and that the progression of even the most successful biotechnology drug from
discovery to market is rarely a straight line.
Entremed has found that the two substances -- angiostatin and endostatin, which are naturally
occurring in humans -- together interfere with the blood supply to tumors, make the tumors shrink
and disappear, and prevent their return. The compounds were discovered by Dr. Judah Folkman, a
cancer researcher at Children's Hospital in Boston.
The drugs are in a class of molecules known as anti-angiogenesis compounds, a research area that
has been pursued by large pharmaceutical and small biotechnology companies for several years.
While Entremed is a year away from starting clinical trials in people, some anti-angiogenesis drugs
are further along. A related class of drugs, known as matrix metalloproteinase inhibitors, which
disable an enzyme that tumors use to invade surrounding tissues, is also advancing.
Stocks of many small companies involved with these drugs shared in the euphoria surrounding
Entremed, which closed Friday at $51.8125, more than four times its $12.0625 closing price on
Friday. The most neglected companies of recent months showed the greatest percentage gains.
Immunogen closed at $2.31, up 78 cents, or 51 percent; Boston Life Sciences finished at $7.59, up
$5.47, or 257 percent; Repligen was at $3, up $1.53, or 104 percent; Sugen closed at $16.44, up
$2.81, or 20 percent; Imclone Systems ended trading at $10, up $1.25, or 14 percent, and
Magainin was at $8.19, up $2.25, or 38 percent.
Companies with drugs in the later stages of development got less of a boost. Genentech fell 44 cents,
to $68.50, despite having one of the broadest pipelines of cancer drugs, including an
anti-angiogenesis compound. Agouron Pharmaceuticals, which is testing a matrix metalloproteinase
inhibitor, closed at $34.38, up $1, while British Biotech, which has a similar drug in clinical trials,
closed at $13.50, up $2.
"The Entremed thing was overdone, but this is going to be an important area," said Jim McCamant,
editor of Medical Technology Stock Letter. The biotechnology company with the broadest effort in
anti-angiogenesis, he said, is Imclone Systems, a New York company that is pursuing three
approaches.
McCamant cautioned that animal data give no guarantee of success. "Immunogen announced
superior mouse data back in April 1997," he said. "Genentech announced encouraging data in this
area 15 years ago, using tumor necrosis factor in mice. Unfortunately, in large quantities, it proved
toxic to humans."
Anti-angiogenesis is by no means the exclusive province of the smaller companies. Entremed is a
partner with Bristol-Myers Squibb, the dominant player in cancer chemotherapy drugs, to develop
angiostatin, and is seeking a partner for endostatin. Bristol-Myers has its own internal development
program in such drugs, as do Zeneca, Takeida and other big pharmaceutical companies.
|
