Amigo SERGIO:
Me alegra ver que tu espa¤ol es bueno a pesar de lo poco que lo practicas.
Con respecto a tu pregunta sobre DUSA de aqui en adelante proseguire en
ingles ya que hay unos cuantos que no tienen un dominio tan bueno del idioma
espa¤ol como tu.
As you know DUSA is on a developmental stage. At last count, if I remeber,
they only had 15 employees. But they have certainly come up a long way since
the initial incorporation in August 1991.
Their main product is LEVULAN (acido 5-amino-levulinico en espa¤ol or
5-amino-levulinic acid in english). This product has the property of being
activated by light. It is in the family of the photo-porhyrins. As you probably
remeber from your Organic Chemistry (It is being a long time since I covered
that subject myself), the porphyrins are cyclic compounds formed by the linkage
of four pyrrole rings throuh methylene bridges. A caracteristic property of
the porphyrins is the formation of complexes with metal ions.
Unos de los ejemplos de porfirinas mas conocidos son la hemoglobina y la
clorofila. As you know the heme portion of hemoglobin is a metallo-porphyrin
with iron (Fe) at its nucleous. The iron metallo-porhyrins are the most
important ones in nature, not only because chlorophyll and hemoglobin, but
also the myoglobulins, cytochromes (lately in vogue as many drugs use the
cytochrome pathway for detoxification in the liver and cause potential cross-
reactions)
Both chlorophyll and heme are synthesized in living cells by a common
pathway. The two starting materials are "active succinate" the coenzyme A
derivative of succinic acid, derived from the citric acid cycle and the
aminoacid glycine. Pyridoxal phosphate is also necessary in the reaction to
"activate" glycine. The product of the condensation reaction between
succinate and glycine is "alpha-amino-beta-ketoadipic acid", which is rapidly
decarboxylated to form "alpha-aminolevulinic acid" or "ALA " The next
step in porphyrin biosynthesis is the condensation of two moles of ALA to form
porphobilinogen.
Well this is where the core of DUSA research is at. As you know they just got
the deal from Schering which has offered up to $23.75 million plus a $6.25
million equity investing. They are very enthusiastic about the potential to treat
actinic keratosis (AK) with LEVULAN. Presently as you know, AK is usually
treated by surgery, cryotherapy or 5-FU
LEVULAN has also potential use for detecting bladder neoplasms, but that
research is still on Phase II. The Dermatologic use of LEVULAN has
completed the Phase III and they have applied to the FDA for approval.
From a technical standpoint DUSA has made a very GOOD run since the L on
October 1998 at 2 to Friday's H at 19 3/16 !!!
Friday's H at 19 3/16 on volume of 422,900 (up 10.43% for the day) was above
the temporary double top that the stock made with the Hs on October 15 and
Nov.5 at 17.375 . This was after it had tested and passed the April 98 H at 16
5/8. The uptrend that started in October 98 accelerated somewhat after going
through the resistance from the Jun98 Ls at 9 1/4
As you know there is a small float of 8.5 million shares. They have about $11
million in cash. The current ratio is 15.18 The PB is 19.65 and PS 387.19
There is a 28.22% IO
Although the stock has made a "GOOD" run, the best made be yet to come if
they get FDA approval and the cash infusion from Schering.
I am sorry I made this comment longer than I intended, but could not resist
the temptation of refreshing my memory and going back to some old notes on
the porhyrins, since I have not dealt with that subject in a few decades.
Buenas noches, un saludo afectuoso y sigue practicando tu espa¤ol.
Bernard
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