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Biotech / Medical : CRIS, Curis (formerly CBMI) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: SemiBull who wrote (465)	6/11/2003 8:15:50 PM
From: SemiBull	Respond to of 668

4:20PM Curis announces cancer therapeutic partnership with Genentech (CRIS) 3.77 -0.08: CRIS announces that it has licensed its novel small molecule and antibody inhibitors of the Hedgehog-signalling pathway to DNA for applications in cancer therapy. Under the terms of the agreement, DNA has agreed to pay CRIS a license fee of $8.5 mln and additional fees over the next 2 years. finance.yahoo.com

To: SemiBull who wrote (465)	6/12/2003 1:22:59 PM
From: Jim Oravetz	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 668

Curis Up 34% On Licensing Agreement With Genentech DOW JONES NEWSWIRES Shares of drug development company Curis Inc. (CRIS) soared 35% Thursday after the company announced it had established a cancer therapy partnership with Genentech Inc. (DNA). Several other small health-care and biotech stocks also rose sharply early in the session despite biotech being one of the major losers on Wall Street so far Thursday. Pozen Inc. (POZN) and Biomira Inc. (BIOM) - like Curis - set new 52-week highs. The Curis deal with Genentech involves small molecule and antibody inhibitors of the Hedgehog signaling pathway developed by Curis for applications in cancer. Abnormal activation of the Hedgehog signaling pathway has been implicated in the progression of several cancers. Under terms of the agreement, Genentech agreed to pay Curis a licensing fee of $8.5 million and additional fees over the next two years. There will be future cash payments to Curis if milestones are reached and Genentech will also pay Curis a royalty on product sales. Curis shares were recently up 34.2%, or $1.29, to $5.06 on volume of 4.5 million compared with average daily volume of 925,200. ..Analyst Rahul Jasuja of Techvest LLC likes the deal Curis signed with Genentech. "All in all, we believe this is a beneficial partnership for Curis," Jasuja wrote in a note to investors Thursday. "A well-respected, leading biotechnology company with a cancer platform has validated the prominent role of the hedgehog pathway in various cancers and highlights the promise of antagonists of the hedgehog pathway in cancer therapy." He said the transaction "significantly reduces" risk for Curis. Abnormal activation of the Hedgehog signaling pathway has been implicated in the progression of several cancers, including basal cell carcinoma, small cell lung cancer and others. The small molecule drug candidates and Hedgehog antibodies are specific inhibitors of the pathway and don't appear to harm normal cells. That contrasts with more traditional cancer therapies that often kill both cancer cells and normal cells. "We are excited that Genentech feels that our small molecule and antibody inhibitors of this pathway complement its own cancer therapeutics and offer promise as novel new treatments for significant classes of solid tumors," said Dr. Lee Rubin, chief scientific officer of Curis, in a news release. The company said its specifically targeted cancer therapies make it a good match with Genentech, which is a leading developer of targeted therapies for cancer such as Avastin. While analyst Jasuja likes the deal, he still believes it will be years before Curis reaches profitability - not until early in the next decade. He projects a loss per share of 18 cents this year and another 18 cents next year for Curis. He rates the company a buy and doesn't own shares. There is an investment banking relationship. Shares of Curis were recently up $1.18, or 31.3%, at $4.95 on volume of 5.5 million compared with average daily volume of 925,189. The high for the day of $5.60 easily surpassed the old 52-week high of $4.53, set Tuesday.