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Biotech / Medical : ACMI - Accumed Inc. -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Frank Buck who wrote (1060)	1/11/1998 10:09:00 AM
From: Sigmund	Respond to of 1894

Frank, I don't think NeoPath is acquiring CYTEC. Such a merger might make sense but it would not make sense for NeoPath to do anything controversial just before appearing before the FDA which buy the way explains the movement in the stock price. CYTEC is going down in price which doesn't at all seem like a company being acquired. Perhaps they are interested in NeoPath and I believe they have more financial muscle. If NeoPath gains approval from the FDA, which seems rather likely, they may well be acquired by a larger firm with more distribution capability. Accumed I think makes a very good acquisition candidate for someone since they have a broader product line and less risk from an FDA perspective. I think Accumed being acquired is perhaps an even more likely event than NeoPath being acqired. NeoPath is likely to get FDA approval this time but will need a series of modifications to really have an economic device. The 25% reject rate provides IMO very little safety risk but at the same time provides not much in the way of economic benefit. It is being promoted now not as a cost saver for the labs but as a way of extending the benefits of the Pap test to more Americans by expanding the capacity of the labs by up to one third i.e. 100/75. This fits well with Clinton's initiative in this area so there should be general support for this from the FDA but this doesn't get NeoPath to the point that they are a real money maker for an acquiror. That will be another year or 18 months down the road with a couple or three more visits to the FDA in between.