Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Biotech / Medical : Biotech Valuation -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Icebrg who wrote (9156)	9/17/2003 7:39:38 PM
From: keokalani'nui	Respond to of 52153

Hey I think they have something there. Just the other day my wife read that 80% of car accidents occur within 3 miles of home. Now she says we gotta move.

To: Icebrg who wrote (9156)	9/18/2003 9:08:20 AM
From: Icebrg	Respond to of 52153

Roche and Memory Expand Strategic Alliance in CNS [Roche is continuing its very generous tradition in courting early stage "biotech" companies. Seeing the sums involved here, I cannot but wonder what Cortex's Big Pharma deal will look like. The size of the Roche/Memory agreement(s) should concentrate some minds, (I hope)]. Roche and Memory Pharmaceuticals Corporation today announced an expansion of their strategic alliance to develop drug candidates targeting a novel mechanism of action to treat Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and schizophrenia. These drug candidates may also be developed for additional central nervous system (CNS) indications. This agreement is focused on a new target, builds on the first Roche-Memory alliance signed in 2002, and further strengthens Roche’s CNS portfolio for the future. “Roche is committed to finding novel, more effective medicines to treat and manage diseases such as Alzheimer’s, where few treatment options are available,” stated William M. Burns, Head of Roche’s Pharmaceuticals Division. “Expanding our partnership with such a promising CNS discovery organization as Memory Pharmaceuticals, could lead to new and more effective therapies for psychiatric and neurological disorders. This is an excellent example of the direction Roche is taking in its innovation strategy and in creating value with its alliance partners.” Under the terms of the agreement, Roche will purchase a minority equity stake in Memory, at an undisclosed premium over the last financing round, and will provide up-front and milestone payments as well as support for ongoing research and development. Memory will be responsible for advancing drug candidates through early stage clinical development. Roche may then opt to license worldwide rights for the further development and commercialization of products resulting from this collaboration. Roche will pay Memory royalties on product sales and has granted Memory an option to co-promote products in the U.S. Assuming all potential milestones through product launch are achieved, Memory could receive up to $150 million (U.S.) in payments plus royalties. “We are pleased to have the opportunity to expand a very successful partnership, which has already resulted in one product entering clinical development within 12 months of our first transaction,” said Tony Scullion, CEO of Memory Pharmaceuticals. “Expanding this alliance to a second target enables us to leverage our strong CNS discovery base while maintaining our culture as an independent entrepreneurial company, pursuing multiple corporate partnerships. The fact that we will be responsible for development through Phase 2a confirms the confidence that Roche has in our capabilities. Our decision to further partner with Roche reflects their strong R&D and alliance management competencies,” Scullion added.

To: Icebrg who wrote (9156)	9/18/2003 10:40:29 AM
From: Biomaven	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 52153

Travel distance survival bias. I've had a chance to read the paper itself now, and here are a few comments: 1. It's based on just 110 people 2. They compared outcomes within each cancer center, so my first thought, which was that people travel further to the better centers, was wrong. 3. There is considerable interaction between race and travel distance and survival. African Americans actually did more than three times better than whites (hazard ratio for survival of .3), but the people who travelled more than 15 miles were predominantly white (91% white vs only 23% white for the closer patients). 4. Thus I'm left wondering if the multivariable Cox regression model they used (which adjusted for status like race) might not be the real driver behind their results. I just don't know enough statistics to really understand if this might be the case or not. Peter