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Biotech / Medical : Ionis Pharmaceuticals (IONS) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: celeryroot.com who wrote (2761)	10/28/1999 6:48:00 PM
From: Art Bechhoefer	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 4676

I'll check the details, but the finances look very weak to me. What could save them (i.e., the shareholders) is FDA approval of some of these new substances. That would encourage alliances with other drug companies, though it would also reduce earnings. When I first started getting interested in biotech companies about 10 years ago, the rule of thumb was that it took $200 million to develop a drug. About five years ago, that figure had gone up to $300 million. Now it's closer to $500 million. I also periodically discuss biotechs with a colleague of mine in the Washington, DC area, whose business is reviewing research on new drugs and evaluating their prospects. My colleague rates antisense technology among the two or three best approaches. Art