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Biotech / Medical : VAXGEN INC. (VXGN)- The IPO -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Steven who wrote (39)	7/14/1999 8:59:00 PM
From: gary r. albrecht	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 55

Steven, what are you referring (SP?) to, I am not aware of opponents of VAXGEN let alone their becoming vocal. gary

To: Steven who wrote (39)	7/14/1999 10:25:00 PM
From: GPSite	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 55

Steven, Your comments are prescient. Many millions of dollars are spent on Federal grants for AIDS every year. Scientists compete constantly for these grants. Nobody wants to see their grant money go elsewhere. Most of VaxGen's most vocal opponents have a stake in the money that is doled out -- and for those reasons they do not want to see it succeed. Part of Don Francis' frustration in the public sector was dealing with these kinds of politics. That's why he went to Genentech in the private sector. Plain and simple: You will hear a lot of negatives about AIDSVAX. Yet, who else has made it to phase III with an AIDS vaccine? Who is a public company? Who is proceeding forward? Why did Paul Allen buy 800,000 shares (some on the open market AFTER the IPO)? Is he an idiot? Are his investigators naive? There is a really good chance that this vaccine will work well enough to be approved by the FDA. It will change the whole universe of funding. The NIH and CDC are already on VaxGen's side. History is coming down the track. GPSite