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

To: opalapril who wrote (6941)	8/13/1998 9:27:00 PM
From: Bluegreen	Respond to of 17367

Why is everybody upset with the price of Xoma at this point in time? I am thrilled to be able to pick up shares at these prices. I think it is great. Yes it would be depressing if story has changed, but as far as I know we are progressing nicely. Once again I know it is a long shot for ANY biotech including ICOS. BTW Opalapril, just because the guy with the funny haircut put a little of his vast fortune in ICOS doesn't change basic rules of science and hopefully does not influence or impress the FDA. Only my opinions but when I see a situation like Xoma, I don't cry, I BUY!!! One question O, what will be the price of Xoma 5 years from now?VBG

To: opalapril who wrote (6941)	8/14/1998 11:40:00 AM
From: Edward Paule	Respond to of 17367

Thanks Opala for the kind words of encouragement. I bought some ICOS calls to cover my butt just in case it pops while I'm out. I've been in Icos since 1992. Icos' runup over the last year has been the only thing that's kept my portfolio afloat. I still like the company alot and will repurchase it later. But for now I don't see anything fundamentally different about now versus last year when it was $8. What sort of asset allocation mix do you have? I'm concerned about being too top heavy in one or two stocks. I currently own a dozen biotech companies. 20% of my portfolios value is in Xoma. Another 20% is in Chiron. No other company is more than 10% or less than 5%. -Ed.

To: opalapril who wrote (6941)	8/14/1998 1:51:00 PM
From: Tharos	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 17367

If the summation is: Xoma has not exactly been a star performer in my portfolio, and I am hesitant to advise anyone of purchasing more because we never know how the stock's price will react but we can anticipate it reacting opposite of how we believe a "normal" stock would... Then I agree with your assessment. Unfortunately, objectivity is often not easy to achieve because everyone is subject to the vagaries of fear of losing, fear of missing out, greed, pride of opinion, and all the other excitable states that prevent rational judgement. I am not going to liquidate a winning position to purchase more Xoma; however, I find current prices are attractive and I have used some extra cash to add to my position. Keep in mind that at this point we are still dealing with a high-risk and speculative stock that I like and I believe has as much, or more, promise than any other high-risk, speculative stock. The fact that I may or may not have missed out on some profits by not buying another biotech firm vs. buying Xoma is a mute point because hindsight is always twenty-twenty and if you use it selectively, without complete, accurate data and proper study of that data, using it usually ends in knee jerk reactions, bad judgement and lost money.

To: opalapril who wrote (6941)	9/25/1998 8:20:00 PM
From: Robert S.	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 17367

The following abstract is both interesting and perplexing: Infection 1998 Mar;26(2):77-84 The significance of endotoxin release in experimental and clinical sepsis in surgical patients--evidence for antibiotic-induced endotoxin release? Holzheimer RG Klinik fur Allgemeinchirurgie, Martin-Luther-Universitat Halle-Wittenberg, Germany. Sepsis and peritonitis remain a serious challenge for surgical patients, despite improvement in surgical therapy and intensive care and the introduction of new powerful antibiotics. Recent in vitro studies revealed the potential of certain antibiotics, e.g. penicillin-binding protein (PBP) 3-specific antibiotics, to cause antibiotic-induced endotoxin release. Other types of antibiotics, e.g., PBP 2-specific antibiotics, were associated with no or less endotoxin release. Further in vitro experiments and investigations in animals support the hypothesis of antibiotic-induced endotoxin release, but there is little clinical evidence. The clinical significance of endotoxin is subject of open dispute with many pro's and contra's. Endotoxin, although an important trigger, may not be the only factor to induce cytokine release, e.g., peptidoglycans were able to stimulate cells to release cytokines. Gram-positive pathogens have gained more importance in clinical sepsis and may not be sufficiently reflected in current clinical studies. The hypothesis that neutralization of endotoxin and pro-inflammatory cytokines is beneficial in sepsis was seriously challenged by the results of recent clinical and experimental studies. The better understanding of mechanisms in endotoxin-induced cell activation and cell, cell-receptor and soluble receptor interactions led to new treatment options. Recent reports on the complex pathogenesis of peritonitis and the detection of pathogen-related factors with intraperitoneal immune response may have implications on clinical studies investigating the potential of new compounds and the effect of antibiotics on endotoxin release. However, only few reports are available on the clinical significance of antibiotic-induced endotoxin release, and association of endotoxin release with pathogens, mortality or alteration of physiological parameters were not observed. With regard to the particulars of these studies, e.g., a small study population or low mortality rate, mortality may not be an ideal outcome parameter for these studies. There is clinical evidence for antibiotic-induced endotoxin release. However, the need for well-designed and performed studies using newly developed monitoring devices in intensive care therapy is obvious. Publication Types: Review Review, tutorial PMID: 9561376, UI: 98222160