BULLISH CANADIAN NEWSPAPER ARTICLE ON BIOM
Biomira's share price dipped slightly Tuesday after the stock shot up nearly 30 per cent Monday.
Biomira, the Edmonton-based cancer vaccine company, (TSE:BRA; Nasdaq:BIOM) saw shares close at $6.25 Tuesday, down 10 cents on the day. Monday it climbed $1.40 to close at $6.35.
Company spokesperson Bill Wickson said Biomira has not been engaged in any activity that would account for the steep increase.
"I think that interest is gaining in the stock -- particularly in the U.S.," Wickson said.
Biomira has made significant advances with its leading drug Theratope, a treatment for metastatic breast cancer. The drug is in Phase III trials, the final step before U.S. regulatory approval, which could come as early as next year.
Biomira acknowledges that Internet newsletters highlighting Theratope have given the company a boost.
Angus Watt, investment adviser with National Bank Financial, said Biomira is a company that largely trades on the Internet through Nasdaq. Therefore it's not surprising that Internet publications putting Biomira in a positive light would help boost its share price, he said.
A story Friday on www.worldlyinvestor.com compared Biomira's fortunes to Canadian company, QLT Therapeutics.
QLT gained worldwide medical clearance for a cancer product about a year ago, then saw its $8 stock rocket to the $45 level.
"Now another cancer therapy stock, Edmonton-based Biomira, exhibiting many of the same qualities as the early QLT, looks like it could cause history to repeat itself," writes columnist Bob Beaty in worldlyinvestor.com.
Biomira's stock over the year, posted a 52-week high of $8.70 and a low of $3.60.
The share price was battered early this fall when U.S. partner Chiron Corp. pulled its support from the Theratope trials.
Loss of the backing meant Biomira had to arrange interim financing of $36 million US to finance the 900-patient, global trials.
However, the worldlyinvestor newsletter touts Biomira anyway, on the basis that the company is debt-free and has $27 million US cash.
"When a partner is found, it will probably be too late to buy the stock ... but with an abundance of potential, Biomira may well reward the risk-oriented investor handsomely."
Another Internet newsletter, www.bull-market.com, lists Biomira among small-capitalization biotech companies in its reader portfolio.
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