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Biotech / Medical : XOMA. Bull or Bear? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Larry Dreher who wrote (6344)	5/22/1998 12:27:00 AM
From: aknahow	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 17367

I am not sure the military or other "important" people will be restricted in considering only approved options. Gama globulin was given to embassy U.S. personnel and U.S. contract employees, over 25 years ago for Hepatitis in certain countries. People were told it was experimental and could be refused. Was made in France. Don't know but doubt this was F.D.A. approved back in 1974. Perhaps someone with military medical background could provide insights into other treatments that were not available to the general public. However, back to earth and would just concentrate on the vaccine makers. Perhaps the real value is just as another attention grabber to direct investments towards drugs and biotechs.

To: Larry Dreher who wrote (6344)	5/22/1998 8:54:00 AM
From: E.J. Neitz Jr	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 17367

Larry, GeneLabs- GNLB, has a Govt Contract for Anti- Biological Weapons Activly developing antidotes

To: Larry Dreher who wrote (6344)	5/24/1998 1:58:00 PM
From: aknahow	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 17367

Larry did you know the Center for Disease Control might know what the military should stockpile? The CDC has Epidemic Intelligence Service Officers. Do you know any? Be interesting to see if at least a former one knows about BPI. O.K. found a former Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer and have cut and pasted his comments below. Of course he no longer works for the CDC but perhaps he still has contacts there. Dr. Lowell Young, Director of the Kuzell Institute for Arthritis and Infectious Diseases at the California Pacific Medical Center, San Francisco, and former Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer, Centers for Disease Control Dr. Young, could you give us some background on gram-negative bacteria? The outer wall of a gram-negative bacterium contains endotoxin. Humans are extremely sensitive to this endotoxin. Therefore, gram-negative infections trigger fever and a drop in blood pressure, and may set off an inflammatory cascade. This can lead to shock, in which blood pressure falls so far that vital organs are starved of blood. Brain, kidneys and lungs start to fail. The later stages of this process are sometimes called "sepsis" or "septic shock". As a cause of death, sepsis-related disorders are in the top ten. Half a million cases a year and 250,000 deaths are cited in the literature. With an aging population and life-sustaining treatments, more people are susceptible. The number and severity of cases is definitely trending upward. How does BPI fit into this picture? BPI is a sophisticated molecular shotgun, a protein found inside our white blood cells. It represents a new strategy for augmenting host defenses, because it acts early in the infection to kill gram-negative bacteria and neutralize their endotoxin. My fundamental belief is that it is best to eliminate the bacterial endotoxin stimulus as early as possible in the infectious process. Thus, clinical studies which test BPI as a preventive or early treatment, instead of waiting until the septic cascade is well advanced, represent a sound approach. _________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Yes, this is from the 1995 XOMA annual report. While I do not know what the military will stockpile I doubt the CDC is unaware of BPI. Suppose you own no stock in XOMA but you make the decision on what to stockpile for one or more of these countries: China, Iran, Iraq, North Korea,Russia, or the U.S. Tell me why you would not stockpile Neuprex, as part of your preparedness plan? Left out Israel, because their decision probably has already be made. <g>

To: Larry Dreher who wrote (6344)	5/28/1998 11:25:00 AM
From: aknahow	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 17367

Larry, from a 1997 CRADA List I found this:963.Studies of the Potential Role of Endotoxin Neutralizing Proteins in the Treatment of Endotoxic Shock - Army MRDC WRAIR CRADA stands for Cooperative Research And Development Agreement. There were thousands of things on the list. Did not seem to indicate companies but rather governmental agencies and of course the projects. Gives good idea of interest of ARMY but making the connection to any company is a big task. Also the list while dated 1997 may contain things going back to 1992. Was looking for something related to XOMA and am not sure if what I have found does or if it does is something that has no current interest. I have asked XOMA (Ellen) and if of any current interest I will post what I found. But the endotoxin thing made my day. Proof positive the Army is interested in proteins that fight endotoxins! Let fantasy reign!