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Biotech / Medical : Biotransplant(BTRN) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: aknahow who wrote (1258)	2/25/2002 5:47:07 PM
From: Biotech Jim	Respond to of 1475

Isis Icam antisense compound in psoriasis biz.yahoo.com Monday February 25, 2:49 pm Eastern Time Isis shares drop as psoriasis trial disappoints (UPDATE: Adds background, analyst quotes, updates share price, changes dateline previous NEW YORK) The Carlsbad, California-based biotechnology company's shares were down $2.12 to $15.83 on the Nasdaq market, after earlier falling as low as $15.10. Several analysts said the selling was overdone. On Sunday, Isis Chief Executive Stanley Crooke told Reuters the company was unlikely to conduct further studies of the drug ISIS 2302 as a stand-alone treatment for psoriasis, although it will consider conducting trials of the drug in combination with other treatments. Isis released results of a mid-stage trial of the compound at the American Academy of Dermatology meeting in New Orleans. Jim McCamant, an analyst at Moors & Cabot, said, ``I'm surprised the stock is down as far as it is. This is certainly not good news, but it's not terribly bad either.'' He noted that Isis has a second psoriasis drug in clinical trials. Mark Monane, an analyst at Needham & Co., repeated a ``strong buy'' rating on ISIS shares, citing a share price target range of $30 to $32 and eight other clinical trials the company currently has under way. The trial of ISIS 2302 compared the product, in the form of a 4 percent topical cream, to placebo in 30 patients with mild to moderate psoriasis, a chronic disease resulting in inflamed and scaly skin patches. After four weeks, 12 of the 30 patients, based on the investigators' scale, demonstrated a significant response to ISIS 2302 compared with placebo, but the response rate fell to seven out of 29 patients after eight weeks. Crooke said the company will consider further study of ISIS 2302 as a treatment for other inflammatory skin diseases, such as atopic dermatitis. Isis is a leader in the field of antisense technology, which blocks the formation of proteins that cause disease. Most drugs interact with already created proteins. ISIS 2302 is an antisense inhibitor of intercellular adhesion molecule-1, a molecule that plays a key role in a wide range of inflammatory and autoimmune conditions. In December the company launched a Phase III trial of the drug in patients with Crohn's disease, a chronic inflammatory disease of the gastrointestinal tract. As part of its dermatology drug program, Isis is conducting a Phase II psoriasis trial of ISIS 104838, a compound that inhibits TNF-alpha, another autoimmune target tissue. Results of that trial are expected early next year, the CEO said. Antisense is seen as a potentially revolutionary technology and has caught the attention of several big drug companies. Last year Eli Lilly and Co. (NYSE:LLY <http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=lly&d=t> - news <http://biz.yahoo.com/n/l/lly.html>) licensed Isis' late-stage lung cancer drug, and Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE:MRK <http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=mrk&d=t> - news <http://biz.yahoo.com/n/m/mrk.html>) licensed a mid-stage diabetes drug. Isis also initiated an antisense drug discovery collaboration with Amgen Inc. (NasdaqNM:AMGN <http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=amgn&d=t> - news <http://biz.yahoo.com/n/a/amgn.html>), the world's biggest biotechnology company.