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

To: scaram(o)uche who wrote (14714)	12/17/2004 9:10:05 AM
From: zeta1961	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 52153

AstraZeneca Reports Poor Test Results Friday December 17, 8:24 am ET AstraZeneca Reports Disappointing Lung Cancer Drug Test Results, Shares Skid on News [AZN getting haircut, DNA, OSIP getting Rogaine fast release in premarket] LONDON (AP) -- Drug manufacturer AstraZeneca PLC announced Friday that trials of its new lung cancer drug found it didn't help patients live longer. Its shares dropped more than 8 percent. The company said that while trials showed its cancer drug Iressa improved shrinkage of cancer tumors, that didn't translate to a statistically significant survival benefit. ADVERTISEMENT Dr. Alan Barge, worldwide medical director for Iressa, said it was a disappointing result. "Iressa clearly provides substantial benefits for some patients in clinical practice and we will be working to better understand this outcome," Barge said. The company said it was consulting regulatory authorities to determine the effect of the test results. Shares in the London-based company dropped more than 8 percent to 1,888 pence ($36) Friday afternoon. Patients currently taking Iressa should consult their doctor and if they decided to continue treatment AstraZeneca would honor its commitment to supply the drug, the company said. AstraZeneca also announced Friday that Louis Schweitzer would take on the position of non-executive chairman following the retirement of Percy Barnevik, effective Dec. 31. AstraZeneca is one of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies with health care sales of over $18.8 billion.

To: scaram(o)uche who wrote (14714)	12/17/2004 9:23:02 AM
From: Henry Niman	Respond to of 52153

Most of the discussion is on the SARS/Flu threads, but the news is out in mainland China, and it will soon spread round the world recombinomics.com It seems that Biotech Valuation is an appropriate place for a heads up on a developing major story that almost certainly involves release of a deadly lab virus that can have serious consequences.

To: scaram(o)uche who wrote (14714)	12/26/2004 4:04:47 AM
From: Henry Niman	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 52153

Richard, Since you haven't come up with an opinion on the WSN/33 sequences in swine in Korea (other than nonsense about contamination), and this is where the SI Biotech "gurus" hang out, here are a few additional data points that you can factor in. The WSN/33 swine sequences are over 99% homologous to WSN/33 in all 8 genes (only half of PB2 is present, but that half is over 99% homologous to WSN/33). However, there are a few polymorphisms that are in all of the WSN/33 swine sequences, but not in WSN/33 or avian sequences. Instead, these polymorphisms are found in various swine isolates with human like surface proteins (subtypes H1N1, H1N2, H2N2, H3N2), including many in the midwest. The swine isolates are now showing up in turkeys in Minnesota, North Carolina, and Ohio. recombinomics.com Thus, your contamination allusions not only need to get contaminating WSN/33 sequences into the pigs in Korea, but also explain the more modern polymorphisms which are showing up this year and last year in the US turkeys (as well as midwestern US swine from the past several years). I expect this story to break next week, and it will NOT be good news for Biotechs, because the public doesn't like lethal lab escapees.