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Biotech / Medical : Abgenix, Inc. (ABGX) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Icebrg who wrote (240)	7/2/2003 2:29:03 PM
From: fred hayes	Respond to of 590

Tom, Erik: Thanks. (eom)

To: Icebrg who wrote (240)	7/2/2003 6:28:59 PM
From: Icebrg	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 590

Abgenix shares rise on talk of Amgen interest Wednesday July 2, 6:15 pm ET LOS ANGELES, July 2 (Reuters) - Shares of Abgenix Inc. (NasdaqNM:ABGX - News) rose as much as 14 percent on Wednesday amid market talk that Amgen Inc. (NasdaqNM:AMGN - News), the world's largest biotechnology company, may be interested in buying the developer of antibody therapies, market sources said. Shares of Abgenix, based in Fremont, California, closed up 79 cents, or 7.6 percent, at $11.15 on Nasdaq. The stock has gained 51 percent year-to-date, but trades well below its March 2000 high of over $90. A spokeswoman for Amgen declined to comment on the market talk and officials at Abgenix could not be reached. "We have heard that Amgen wants a bigger share of ABX-EGF," said Fariba Ghodsian, a portfolio manager at hedge fund Castle Creek Lifescience Partners, referring to the experimental cancer drug the two companies are co-developing. The fund holds shares in both biotech companies. At a recent medical meeting, Amgen and Abgenix unveiled promising early results from a mid-stage colon cancer trial of the antibody, which is engineered to block the epidermal growth factor receptor, a key biochemical switch used by tumors, and only by tumors, to survive and grow. The Phase 2 trial is continuing to enroll patients and the companies have not commented on the potential for future trials. "There are a lot of rumors. Overall Abgenix has a good number of products in its pipeline that would add value to Amgen, but I am doubtful of the scope," said Sena Lund, an analyst at Cathay Financial. "Amgen is a large company that needs a much larger acquisition." Lund said Amgen, which a year ago concluded its $10.3 billion purchase of Immunex, is more likely to enter into deals to acquire potential new products rather than a whole company. ABX-EGF is the least advanced of several drugs that target the EGF receptor, including AstraZeneca Plc's (London:AZN.L - News) Iressa and partners OSI Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NasdaqNM:OSIP - News) and Genentech Inc.'s (NYSE:DNA - News) experimental drug Tarceva, both of which are so-called small-molecule drugs that can be taken in pill form. ABX-EGF, like ImClone Inc.'s (NasdaqNM:IMCL - News) experimental medicine Erbitux, is an antibody that must be injected or infused into the bloodstream. "Overall, the monoclonal antibodies seem to do a better job than the small molecules," Ghodsian said. Shares of Amgen, based in Thousand Oaks, California, rose $1.36, or 2 percent, to close at $67.21 on Nasdaq.