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Biotech / Medical : AMLN (DIABETES DRUGS) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: The Gambler who wrote (1293)	4/3/1998 6:16:00 AM
From: Henry Niman	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 2173

In many cases, a reading "between the lines" helps understand press releases. When AMLN announced the pullout of JNJ, AMLN indicated that additional data would be required to attract additional partners. I translated that comment to mean that there was a clear efficacy question. When AMLN's press release on Phase III results came out last summer, many on this board thought it was good news. I did not. Pramilintide was border-line positive for Type I and not statistically significant for Type II. This was a major setback because the Type II market is much larger. It also signalled a delay. When I said that last summer, some on the board also disagreed. AMLN subsequently acknowledged a delay and announced new Phase III trials. JNJ put a great deal of money into the AMLN program (over $160 million?), and then pulled the plug. They can see more data than the public. When JNJ looked over a year ago, much was made of the fact that the program moved forward. Now, most objective observers would concede that the pullout is also significant. I know of no press release where JNJ said they dropped the program because of efficacy problems. However, reading between the lines should be very easy by now.