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Biotech / Medical : Somatogen (SMTG) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: John J H Kim who wrote (379)	2/5/1998 11:24:00 PM
From: Bharat H. Barai	Respond to of 442

Conference Call with Somatogen Top Brass Today. Myself and Dr. Peter Mavrelis had 30 minutes conference call today, with Chairman and CEO Andre DeBruin, VP Medical Affairs Dr. Caspari and Chief Scientific Officer Dr. Bill Freytag. This call was scheduled several days ago to discuss clinical trials with Optro. The call was very reassuring about the company's progress, activities and professionalism. It is taking lot more than any of us like, but the company and the management are very focused, very responsible and doing their very best with the resources that they have. We think Somatogen has very bright future. I will post detailed information about various points discussed and information obtained on the weekend. We specifically asked about any pending news item. Chairman Andre DeBruin said that there was no imminent news or announcements. He did state that Cardiac Bypass trials are proceeding very smoothly with no untoward side effects. He also stated that discussions with potential partners are proceeding actively and they are "very satisfied with the progress" in this regard. We also reviewd the progress on 2nd generation recombinant Hb molecules. I had speculated in October about Amgen being the most likely partner and posted that on this thread in Oct. 1997. I still believe that to be the most likely scenario. However, the recent Amgen ad is really related to their transfer of manufacturing to Boulder from California. Somatogen staff had told us in October 1997 about it and I had posted that information on this thread in Oct. 1997. Amgen did purchase Synergen, another Boulder based Biotech company ealier. Their plant in California did sustain some damage in last earthquake and they were trying to shift manufacturing to Boulder for additional manufacturing site, away from Earthquake area and possibly lower costs. This fact certainly helps in considering partnership synergies. In any case, for those with patience, Somatogen is an excellent call. The science is great, the product is badly needed and the management is very professional, responsible and committed to the goal. B.H. Barai MD Hematologist

To: John J H Kim who wrote (379)	2/6/1998 11:32:00 AM
From: John Howell	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 442

Yesterdays trade volume and runup in price is at worst an intermediate bullish signal. Regardless of the underlying reason for the movement, one can assume that some trader(s) thinks the stock is a good buy at this level. As far as the SEC goes, I doubt that they would be interested. One million shares of a six dollar stock isn't going to set off too many alarms. In the event it is one person moving the stock, the SEC would have to prove that inside info was available to them. Otherwise, anyone that has enough money to trade large blocks can certainly afford enough legal expertise to conjure up technical reasons for buying any stock.

To: John J H Kim who wrote (379)	2/7/1998 6:14:00 PM
From: Bharat H. Barai	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 442

Points made in Conference call with Somatogen on Feb. 5, 98 The conference call was setup several weeks ago between some MDs in NW Indiana area who are shareholders of Somatogen and Somatogen management: Andre DeBruin-Chairman, Dr. Bob Caspari VP of Medical affairs, Dr. Bill Freytag, Chief Scienticic officer. (1) On specific inquiry Andre denied any pending or imminent important news. He would not comment on jump in Somatogen stock price. (2) They stated that as part of ongoing R & D, almost 500 different molecules of Hemoglobin have been prepared by genetic engineering. 2-3 of them are short listed for proceeding to clinical trials. These 2nd generation Hb compounds have longer half life: 24-30 hours and cause very little nitric oxide binding, thought to be associated with mild nausea and increase in Amylase-Lipase. (3) They concurred that marrow stimulation trials with Optro were a little side show, it is over and they do not intend to pursue them at this time or in foreseeable future. They intend to concentrate time and resources on main indication of Optro: Tissue Oxygen Therapeutics. (4) They stated that they would like to conduct trials of Optro in many other clinical situations: surgeries with significant blood loss, emergency rooms etc., but due to limited resources and to concentrate on faster FDA approval, they would like to focus on ongoing CPB trials. (5) The CPB trial is going well. Accruals are going smoothly. There have been no significant side effects. Andre stated that Cardio Thoracic surgeons and Anesthesiologists are very enthusiastic about this study. They are now moving forward to the next phase of the trial,giving 4 units of Optro (from 2 units at present) (6)They are in touch with FDA and FDA has been very supportive of these trials. They intend to test waters with FDA for compassionate use of Optro in ER or for Jehovah's witnesses once safety profile of Optro is well established in ongoing trials. (7) They stated that they have been having active discussions with number of potential corporate partners. They are very satisfied with the progress in these discussions so far. They realize that it is very important to have a corporate partner with monetary and technical resources to manufacture and market Somatogen product. They stll think that before the end of 2nd quarter of 1998, such deal would have been completed. (our guess: still Amgen as 1 st possibility. Dr. Rathman co founder of Amgen and Chairman emeritus, also on the board of Somatogen, Amgen's upcoming plant in Boulder to manufacture Epogen and Neupogen, Amgen's expertise in genetic engineering, Amgen's resources and expertise in marketing, Amgen's need for a block buster product) Overall the conference call was very positive. We got impression that they are very much in charge, focussed professionals. They sounded very comfortable, knowledgable and resolute. Still very positive on long term future of Somatogen. Great product, great science, great need of product. Clinical trials completion is lengthy and tedious. It may be 18-24 months before it goes to FDA. But then more market for the product than many companies who are trading at 50 or 80. Let us see when this Diamond moves from the dumpster to the Golden Ring !!! B.H. Barai MD Hematologist