To: Land Shark who wrote (1840 ) 7/11/1999 12:29:00 AM From: DanZ Read Replies (3) | Respond to of 10293
Mr. Yields,The fancy theoretical framework behind this has been put forward... but where are the conclusive medical studies? The two doctors that developed Zicam conducted a clinical study through a major California University and submitted the results of the study to the New England Journal of Medicine . I participated in a conference call about a month ago and the company and doctors are very optimistic that the study will be published soon. The results of the study had a statistical significance as measured by a p-value < 0.001. A p-value < 0.05 is considered statistically significant by the medical community and obviously a p-value < 0.001 is many times better than that. A p-value < 0.001 means that the probability of the results happening by chance alone were less than 1 in 1000. You say that the science behind blocking ICAM sites is "all fantasy". May I ask what research you have done to back up this hypothesis? Like me, you are an engineer and I didn't learn anything about ICAM receptors in college. Where did you acquire your knowledge of this subject? Are you aware that a significant amount of research has gone into the interaction of ICAM receptors with the rhinovirus? You might want to do some research on a product called Tremacamra that was recently published in a major medical journal and discussed in the media. You will also find a significant amount of research by going to Yahoo and searching on ICAM 1. Pay special attention to the Cold Centre in England. GumTech is currently in the process of conducting three additional clinical studies. One study will determine the efficacy of Zicam on preventing cold symptoms. The second study will determine the efficacy of Zicam on alleviating allergy symptoms. The third study is a repeat of the first study to determine the efficacy of Zicam on reducing the duration of cold symptoms. The reason that GumTech is repeating the study is because the FDA requires that two studies be conducted before claims can be made on a product's packaging or label that it is clinically proven to do anything. Nobody from the company claims that Zicam is a "cure" for the common cold. They claim that it is a cold remedy that reduces the duration of the common cold from an average of 12 days to 1.5 days. While you are entitled to your opinion on homeopathic remedies, it is fallacious to generalize that EVERY homeopathic remedy is "quack medicine". Some homeopathic remedies are quack medicine and others aren't. I have researched the mechanism behind Zicam in detail, the interaction of ICAM receptors with the rhinovirus, and read the opinions of doctors and pharmacists that I trust. I have also personally used Zicam on several occasions and found that it works in a manner that is consistent with the company's claims. People that I trust have used Zicam and reported similar results. Based on my research, I do not believe that Zicam is quack medicine because it works as advertised. I personally don't care if you, Mr. Wexler, or anybody else shorts GUMM. I do care, however, when people distort the facts surrounding GumTech or ignore certain facts to only paint the picture that they want others to see. This is what is going on here, IMO. I have spent five months researching GumTech, their products, and the science behind their claims. I have spoken to the head buyers at Albertsons and Eckerd Drug Stores, two of the biggest current customers for Zicam. I have spoken to GumTech management on many occasions and they have helped me understand everything that they can about the company. What I have done over the last five months is DUE DILIGENCE and I take issue with somebody who claims to have done due diligence because they looked at GumTech's balance sheet for five minutes or looked at Zicam for two minutes. Short away. You might depress the stock for a few minutes, and then, IMO, you will be trampled along with the other short sellers that have bet against this company and shorted over 900,000 shares. I didn't come here tonight to persuade you or anybody from shorting GUMM. I didn't come here to get in a pissing match with short sellers. My goal is to present some facts and opinions that are backed up by a lot of research. I have a lot more knowledge of GumTech than I put into this post. To those of you who short GUMM: I sincerely hope that you completely understanding what is happening at this company. With nicotine gum on the horizon and Zicam on the shelf at nearly every major drug store, grocery store chain, and mass discount retailer in the next two months, I think last Friday's close at 12 11/16 will look cheap in a few months. Y'all have fun. Dan