KDUS is fun. At H&Q, their CEO flat out said that they're going to be a drug discovery engine. If you like G protein-coupled receptor technology, you might want to check out a John de Castro find (or at least that's how it snuck into my universe), Synaptic Pharmaceuticals. Plenty of cash (about $34 million as of 9/30/96), a low burn that they're proud of, a "technology value" of only about $70 million, a project for migraine in phase I trials (partner is Lilly), alpha adrenergic projects with Merck (BPH) and Dupont Merck (undisclosed target), an obesity/neuropeptide Y5 project with Ciba-Geigy (Novartis), and a galanin/obesity project that should be partnered soon. Lilly, Merck and Ciba-Geigy have all extended their collaborations. IMO, SNAP is the leader in serotonin-based drug design. 1995 sales totaled about $6 billion for SeBD. Run, don't walk, to do your own homework, as I'm about to disclaim any useful knowledge.
I hate it when people hype irrelevant stuff in a thread devoted to a given company. My rationale for posting about SNAP here? I like KDUS, and I think that SNAP's progress is an indication that a novel approach to the analysis of G protein-coupled receptor subtypes will pay. There's plenty of room for multiple companies and very different approaches. So, please excuse my intrusion, and consider my discussion of SNAP as a ringing endorsement of the research efforts at KDUS.
DISCLAIMER: I am not qualified to make investment recommendations. I own SNAP and have a vested interest in its appreciation.
Rick |
