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Biotech / Medical : Agouron Pharmaceuticals (AGPH) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: biodoc who wrote (3916)	3/10/1998 10:27:00 AM
From: Randy Schmid	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 6136

What biodoc said. A lead compound will be selected from among its analogs based on efficacy, preliminary toxicity, etc. profile, then kilogram quantities will be synthesized and the compound evaluated for toxicity in 2 species, will be formulated, get stability data, etc. Then if things still look good, an IND will be filed with the FDA, and 30 days later barring FDA action, the company may begin dose escalation in volunteers. This whole shebang usually takes between 9-18 months before you can dose humans. Then it can be 5-8 years of additional testing (Phase II, III) before marketing. Drug development is a slow process, even as sped up as its become in the last few years. As far as what it does to the stock price, don't know. Other biotech firms with fledgling programs have their prices boosted with such announcements. I think AGPH will not benefit in the same way. Investors seem to use the old double standard on the company - treat it like a drug company when good sales and earnings come out (ho hum), and treat it like a biotech and crush it when bad news comes out. Worst of both worlds. Randy