When Rick sells a huge chunk of the T/FIF portfolios, it makes me wonder how much longer this "current environment" will last. Having computer trouble, but will get to the RNAI filings soon. Meanwhile, another salvo from the PR division at INGN:
>>CHICAGO, June 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Two abstracts describing an early stage phase 1/2 clinical study in esophageal cancer indicated that Introgen Therapeutics' (Nasdaq: INGN - News) Advexin therapy was well tolerated by patients and appeared to slow the advancement of the disease, the company announced today. These patients were not eligible for surgery. Additionally, biosafety studies revealed that Advexin is safe and biologically effective in the patients treated on the study. These data were presented and published at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.
The preliminary clinical results were reported by the investigators at Chiba University School of Medicine Hospital in Japan. (Abstract # 877) The tumors, which were far advanced and resistant to standard therapies, were injected twice weekly with Advexin over a two to five month period via local injection. Seven patients had been treated at the time of this report and only one patient's disease had progressed during the evaluation period. Pain and mild fever were the only recorded side effects. Biologically active p53 protein was produced within the tumors, as revealed by laboratory evaluations, which were detailed in the second abstract reported by the investigators. (Abstract # 1334)
"We are encouraged by the initial data for Advexin in the treatment of esophageal cancer," said James A. Merritt, M.D., Introgen's chief medical officer. "Given the activity and tolerance shown in these studies, and the dire need for improving the treatment of this condition, the possibility of combining Advexin with radiotherapy or radiotherapy plus chemotherapy is also attractive."
Esophageal cancer is a particularly invasive cancer, which is usually too far advanced for surgical removal and cure at the time it is diagnosed. The cancer is notoriously resistant to therapy, invades the local anatomical structures in the chest, and most patients have substantial difficulty and pain with eating and swallowing. While rare in the United States, esophageal cancer is common in some countries, notably Japan. The disease is similar to squamous cell cancer of the head and neck, which is more common in the United States. Advexin is being studied in two phase 3 studies in advanced head and neck cancer.
In addition to the esophageal study, Introgen is also conducting a phase 1/2 study in non-small cell lung cancer at four other universities in Japan. The Advexin trial represents the first therapeutic gene drug to receive regulatory approval for commercial development in Japan. Introgen and its collaborators recently published the results of a clinical study of Advexin combined with radiotherapy in patients with locally advanced lung cancer in which showed that approximately 60% of patients' primary tumors regressed or disappeared after the combination therapy, as assessed by both biopsies and by CT scans three months after treatment.<<
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I don't think they have much left in their PR cannon, and summer approacheth. BLUE HP sells all 1000 shares at $4, a $339 loss.
Cheers, Tuck |
