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Biotech / Medical : Ligand (LGND) Breakout! -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Hippieslayer who wrote (16762)	3/7/1998 11:44:00 PM
From: Henry Niman	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 32384

FUGAZI, They have an oral substitutes with increased specificity (the one reported at the meetings distinguish human and mouse G-CSF receptors). They can make and screen analogs quickly and cheaply to make even better drugs. It's call Targeted Drug Design and LGND has clearly defined the target and ways of making very cheap and effective bullets. PS: A special thank you to our resident nay sayer. He has enticed interested parties to come forward with detailed explanations of the material presented at Keystone and Lake Tahoe.

To: Hippieslayer who wrote (16762)	3/7/1998 11:45:00 PM
From: Pseudo Biologist	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 32384

Fugazi, let me try. For certain disease conditions activation of the G-CSF receptor is a good thing. How good? Well Amgen makes sells a drug called Neupogen to do just that and it generates hundreds of millions (if not close to a billion) in sales per year. This is used, roughly, to help rebuild a patient's white blood cell population after rounds of chemotherapy and/or radiation. Indirectly, use of this drug helps fight cancer. Now, Neupogen is a protein , meaning it has to be injected, and is expensive to manufacture. A pill version of this would be a big seller (assuming Geron does not cure ALL cancers first, -g-). The Lake Tahoe/Keystone results hints - I do mean hints - that it may be possible to come up with small molecules (which may be made into pill formulations) that act like Neupogen (or Leukine if the receptor turns out to be GM-CSF as first reported. On this point I know what has been posted here). How long from this interesting result to a clinical trial, let alone a drug?? Hard to tell. It may be a few years. PB

To: Hippieslayer who wrote (16762)	3/7/1998 11:53:00 PM
From: Abuckatatime	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 32384

Fugazi, if the info we have so far is accurate we're talking about a molecule that would mimic the action of a naturally occurring cytokine. Let's assume, for example's sake, that it is soon to be revealed that Ligand has a drug that can be taken orally that has the same effect as Amgen's injectable Neupogen in that it stimulates the production of white blood cells. Such a drug would tap into a billion dollar market. P1 P2 P3 NDA FDA approval, $$ could be the scenario. Make that $$$$$$...feel the force Luke...trust the force...!