I have just come across this stock and do not feel like reading the incredible volume of thread notes you guys have written. However, I did peruse a few randomly, so forgive if I restate. I am looking for answers like you guys.
If the insiders are selling, can you blame them. The stock shoots up triple digit gains, and you expect them to hold. This is incredible gain in short amount of time based on a big discovery. In time, almost all quick runups like these fall back down. It has thus far to 9. If nothing else good comes out of the next few months, the people who were buying over $10 will sell(taking their loss) to offset other gains for the year by December 31.
The fact that the mice had the gene knocked out and still died is not clear cut. It really depends where the gene has integrated. Do not forget, though we use mice very often in research(KO mice), there are much better species sometimes to use(pig, dog, chimp). The problem is that noone wants to KO those huge animals because the cost would be enormous. Nuff said.
The huge fact that someone has cloned the gene that makes the RNA product for telomerase in humans is HUGE. The hot topic for the past two years has been targetting the role of telomerase in cancer. One of the many reasons is that it provides another potential avenue for cancer therapeutics. Now that we know the gene's primary sequence, we can do alot of playing god-more KO, mutated forms of the gene, multiple copies of the gene-and alot more research about what elements in the nucleoplasm act as transcription factors to promote the expression of the gene. It opens alot of doors.
Diagnostically, the fact that we know telomerase activity is there in human cancers is significant, but not new here, so defining a drug has always been this company's goal as well as any other similar company. The only thing new to this company is the fact that they cloned the gene. Now they know where it is, and what its face looks like. Now it need to know who in its neighborhood like to play with it to make cancer(if it is intimately involved in the genesis)or who turns it on when the cancer is formed. We may be able to block the elements that play with the gene!!!
This stock will fall because most investors do not understand the implications discovered. They want a quick buck, don't we all. They think cloning a gene means all is done, lets go home. It is the end of a multiple step process for discovery, but the start of an incredibly complex, lengthy process of therapy. Do not fret, but this stock will go down some more. The information is made public to all in the research community, so the fact that they discovered the gene means nothing. Anyone studying this area can use the info to generate a therapy. It would be extremely unethical for them to withhold crucial findings for self gain. Best of luck to you guys and for your sake, I hope they find the necessary therapy, but for the sake of all cancer patients, I hope someone finds a therapy.
The article says that the RNA transcript is NOT found in all cells, and in a few reference articles, it seems the bone marrow and hematopoietic cells express in low levels.
Miller |
