To: Tom Hua who wrote (85 ) 8/1/2000 6:46:11 PM From: Street Hawk Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 19633 ONXX: Was the news really new? I think not. The run-up (including today's casino action) are based on months-old cancer results from their Phase II trials for Onyx-015. The spamming by Nature magazine resulted in the rocket fuel run. Does NERX ring a bell? Cancer cure news is the oldest trick in the biowreck's arsenal. Always gets momos in a tizzy. BUYER BEWARE. Short @ average of 15 1/2 Update: Onyx Soars as Investors Discover Promising Drug Trials By Tim Arango TheStreet.com/NYTimes.com Staff Reporter 8/1/00 4:15 PM ET Updated from 3:23 p.m. EDT Investors bid up shares of Onyx Pharmaceuticals (ONXX:Nasdaq - news) more than 45% Wednesday after a magazine reported that clinical trials in a promising cancer drug showed it reduced the size of tumors in patients with cancer in the head and neck. But was it really news? The phase two study of its drug, called Onyx-015, was actually completed last year and preliminary results had already been presented to the American Society of Clinical Oncology, according to Helen Kim, vice president of corporate development at Onyx. In addition, the company issued a press release May 24 to announce positive results from the clinical trials of Onyx-015. "So it's not new news," Kim said. Still, investors flocked to the stock. At one point it was up 45% at 15 13/16, before retreating. It closed Monday's session up 4 1/16, or 37%, at 14 15/16. What investors apparently reacted to was a complete report on the study published Tuesday in the journal Nature Medicine. But the key statistics from the study -- that 63% of 30 patients with cancers of the head or neck saw their tumors shrink by 50% or more and in nine patients the tumors disappeared when using Onyx-015 -- were no secret prior to the journal article, Kim said.