Tuesday November 6, 8:15 am Eastern Time
Press Release
SOURCE: White Mountain Capital, LLC
White Mountain Capital Releases Biotech Research Report: Neotherapeutics & Telik Rated BUY
Biotech Expert Dr. Oren Levy Rates Promising Small Caps
NANUET, N.Y., Nov. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- White Mountain Capital announced today the release of its latest report, ``Upward Bound: Evaluation of Two Small-Cap Biotechnology Companies,'' written by biotechnology consultant Dr. Oren Levy, Ph.D. This report can be accessed at whitemountaincapital.com .
Using his own evaluation method which rates sector firms within a framework of the medical necessity and viability of pipeline drugs, Dr. Levy concludes that both Neotherapeutics and Telik are currently undervalued and rates them both a BUY.
``The true value of a biotechnology company is found in its pipeline and research activities. Most biotechnology research reports published today focus on earnings and capitalization, with an almost secondary consideration to the scientific merit of R&D. I think firms in this sector warrant different treatment, as few sectors are impacted so singularly and significantly by scientific research and development,'' said Dr. Levy.
The following is a brief review of Dr. Levy's findings:
Neotherapeutics (Nasdaq: NEOT - news) - BUY - Neotherapeutics, based in Irvine,
CA, is a small cap biotechnology company with major efforts in
neurological disease, oncology and functional genomics.
Strengths:
* Diversified business model. Recently established divisions in clinical
oncology and functional genomics, both with outstanding leadership, add
significant value to the core business. These new divisions plan to
begin clinical trials on at least three promising new compounds in the
next year.
* Strong, new management. Newly appointed President and COO has
reorganized the Neotrofin program and overall company strategy of
conducting clinical trials, while significantly reducing its burn rate
and increasing productivity.
* Wholly owned, phase III candidate for large market disease. Lead
product Neotrofin, intended for mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease
(AD), is currently in phase III trials. The AD market is large and
growing: an estimated 4 million Americans have AD, and this number is
expected to double in the next 25 years.
Telik (Nasdaq: TELK - news) - BUY - Telik, based in San Francisco, CA, is a
biotechnology company with expertise in identifying and developing small
molecule drugs. The company's core TRAP technology, a novel "low
throughput" approach for drug screening, complements traditional high
throughput methods.
Strengths:
* Strong cash position. As of the end of 2Q01, Telik had $36.2 million
in cash and equivalents. The company recently completed a secondary
offering, further strengthening its cash position. While the burn rate
will increase as the clinical development program expands, Telik has
ample cash reserves.
* Fully owned clinical and late development candidates. Telik has
complete ownership of its two most advanced candidates, TLK-286 and
TLK-199 and is conducting its own clinical trial programs for these
drugs, maximizing the value of these candidates.
* Low visibility, high potential early pipeline. TLK-286 is Telik's only
product currently in clinical testing. However, phase I trials for
candidate TLK-199, a drug that mimics the effect of Neupogen (Amgen),
which had 2000 sales of $1.2 billion are expected to begin by year-end.
Also in preclinical development is TLK-17411, a promising treatment for
diabetes.
Dr. Oren Levy
Biomedical and biotechnology consultant Dr. Levy graduated cum laude from Yale University in 1994, where he earned his Bachelor of Science in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry. He earned his Ph.D. in neuroscience from Emory University in December 2000, earning the Woodruff Scholarship from Emory University, the Glenn Foundation/American Federation for Aging Research scholarship and a National Research Service Award from the National Institute for Mental Health.
White Mountain Capital
White Mountain Capital, LLC, a subsidiary of CLG Financial Corporation, is an independent full-service broker-dealer serving individual and institutional investors. The firm offers a full range of products, including listed and OTC equities, options, bonds, money market instruments, mutual funds, annuities and others. Member, NASD, SIPC and MSRB.
White Mountain Capital, LLC is a member of the National Association of
Securities Dealers, CRD number 104123
SOURCE: White Mountain Capital, LLC |
