May 18, 1998
Life Support
Promising cancer therapies raise hope for beleaguered biotechs
By Lauren R. Rublin
Bright hopes and bold headlines to the contrary, man has not yet found a cure for cancer. Thanks to the recent hype surrounding EntreMed, however, bombed-out biotechnology stocks have found a wondrous new lease on life. Little EntreMed, of Rockville, Maryland, by now needs no florid introduction, save to recount that its shares two weeks ago zoomed overnight from 12 to 85 (later settling near 33) on a New York Times report that the company, in conjunction with a noted Harvard researcher, had eradicated tumors in mice...........
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Signal transduction, the primary domain of Sugen and Ligand Pharmaceuticals, is yet another promising avenue of cancer research. The process hinges on a molecule designed to turn a gene on and off within a cell, effectively telling that cell to grow, divide, replicate or die. This technology underlies the success of Tamoxifen, Zeneca Pharmaceuticals' breast-cancer drug, and Evista, Eli Lilly's hormone-replacement therapy.
Sugen's chief contender, SU101, is in Phase III trials for brain cancer, which likely will be completed in late '99 or early 2000. At this early stage, Butler handicaps the likelihood of FDA approval at roughly 60%-65%. Friday morning the company also announced it's initiating a Phase I/II study of an anti-angiogenesis compound, SU5416, in patients with Kaposi's sarcoma. The company's shares moved up 1 1/4, to 17 1/8, but remain below last fall's high of 20 7/8 . While Butler expects Sugen to lose almost $2.40 a share this year, he's encouraged by the company's eclectic research pipeline, which includes prospective treatments for afflictions in addition to cancer.
Ligand, meanwhile, has oral and topical forms of two drugs, Panretin and Targretin, in advanced research. The company recently completed Phase III trials for Panretin Gel, a treatment for AIDS lesions, and plans to file a new drug application by the end of the quarter, while Targretin has shown early promise in breast-cancer therapies.
Last week, Ligand acquired several smaller biotech firms, through which it obtained rights to Seragen's lymphoma drug, Ontak. The compound, which received "priority review," is scheduled to go before a government panel in early June, and approval could put Ligand on track to achieve its stated goal of profitability in 1999.
If his stint in a white coat taught Tony Butler that nothing is certain in science, his years in pinstripes suggest the same about biotech shares. Product failures overnight have extinguished some seeming winners, while unfounded hopes have propelled obscure stocks into the stratosphere. These days, however, exciting laboratory developments offer more reason for hope, both for oncology patients and patient investors.
TomOrt |
