Dear Tim,
Mild spasm of smooth muscles of GI tract was mentioned at the meeting, related to Nitrous oxide phenomena. They stated that by genetic engineering, they had prepared and tested 500 different 2nd generation recombinant Hb molecules and two of them were ready to go for clinical trials. However, regulatory work may take 6-8 months before they can actually go for Human trials.
The idea of Pancreatic enzyme elevation, related to sphincter of Oddii came spontaneously from my friend Dr. Peter Mavrelis (a Gastro Enterologist), who traveled with me to Boulder. After he raised that possibility, Somatogen scientists mentioned that they were thinking along the same lines.
Somatogen scientists did mention that (1) The pancreatic enzyme elevations were transient and mild (2) CT scans were done if the enzyme levels exceeded twice the upper limit of normal (3) No patient had clinical Pancreatitis (4) No patient had abnormal CT scan
The meeting and subsequent tour were very educational. The scientific work and technology involved is phenomenal. Most people can not imagine the complexity involved. All the board members and Somatogen scientists were very self confident and in smiles. There was no appearence of crisis or doom. Andre felt that Wall street had no idea of what is going on. Wall street has taken a simplistic view that if Lilly got out, there must be something wrong with the technology and Somatogen is doomed. We discussed the Lilly thing in detail. It appears that Somatogen management was very unhappy with Lilly. They thought that Lilly beaurocracy considered Optro as just one of umchin number of projects on hand. They had no sense of urgency or priority, while Somatogen wanted to move aggressively for Optro trials. He was clearly very unhappy with Lilly performance and repeatedly mentioned that they were taking their time to select new partner to avoid Lilly kind of situation. They want a firm commitment and top priority for Optro from the new partner. He repeatedly said that we are pursuing the trials faster now and have money for next 3 years to finish the studies. I clearly read that they are very far advanced in their talk with the potential partner.
I can't predict the future, but the technology and fundamentals appear extremely strong. Partner announcement can come before the end of year but more likely by spring. My pick: Amgen. (1) Amgen needs a blockbuster product and Optro will be one (2) Amgen bought Synergen, a Boulder, Colorado based biotech company, so they have physical presence in Boulder (3) Amgen is constructing large manufacturing facility in Boulder and shifting Erythropoetin production from California to Boulder-insurance against earth quake (4) Amgen is in Hematopoetic products line: Epogen, Neupogen, Thrombopoetin. Optro would be in similar line (5) Dr Rathman, cofounder of Amgen and " father of Erythropoetin " in on Somatogen board. He was presnt at the annual meeting. He knows the Optro technology thoroughly and can serve as connection between Somatogen and Amgen.
But this is all my mental gymnastics, not facts. Many other factors come into picture for such decisions. Let us see how events unfold in next 2 years. But have patience. Somatogen's full potential and technology will unfold over longer time. This company is not for traders or quick bucks.
B.H. Barai MD |
