Looks like Abbott is going to increase
their stake in Genset by a couple percent,
to around 4.8%--the meeting is in Paris on
15February. I'll tease the wife that I'd
have taken her on a trip so we could each
vote our shares--if she were not due to give
birth on the 25th <g>. This dilution does not
look too important--if anybody else got their
packet in the mail, mine arrived yesterday,
I'd be glad to hear other opinions.
I'll be looking forward to seeing the 1999 annual
report--I have the 1998 report in front of me
"Genomics vision and reality"--the investors package
also includes articles from the European Wall Street
Journal that I hadn't seen--as a reminder, Genset
is working with J&J on Schizophrenia, that was
from an article dated 19October, 1999; they also
appeared in the WSJ Europe on 9April regarding three
susceptibility genes associated with perhaps a third
of prostate cancers, and finally there was an article
dated 17January, 1999 "Genset Scientist Bets On
Dense Mapping for Firm's Future--Dr. Cohen's visionary
Work is Put to Test in Effort to Find Genetic Flaws
(Daniel Cohen--was director of CEPH at one time).
Some researchers argue that the ideal genetic map
would include 300,000 SNP markers - and even Dr. Cohen
admits that Genset's maiden map is a trade-off between
perfection and cost. yet with 60,000 markers, he says,
Genset's map has a 90% chance of discovering any genetic
variation associated with a specific disease. 'If, as
we suspect, there are 200 important genes involved with
the mamor common human diseases, our map would be able
to get 180".
For those keeping score at home, heheh, I took a third
of my position off the table yesterday just under
$38, a little short of my near-term target of
$40, the wife has a cost around $14 so I cant
imagine she will ever get shook out of her position.
My own shares cost something in the mid $20s.
The ADRs just rolled over and played dead yesterday
as the DOW swooned--I raised enough cash early in
the day to double my position in Genset if we see
anything very far south of $30 in the months ahead,
but I personally think the genomics stocks, certainly
the laggards, have room to run--clearly HGSI, MLNM
and CRA are not the only players. |
