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Biotech / Medical : VD's Model Portfolio & Discussion Thread -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Pseudo Biologist who wrote (6391)	2/1/1999 4:26:00 PM
From: Biomaven	Respond to of 9719

Shaman decomposes: SHAMAN PHARMACEUTICALS RESTRUCTURES TO FOCUS ON VALUE OF SHAMAN Botanicals Business Editors and Health/Medical Writers SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.--(BW HealthWire)--Feb. 1, 1999--Shaman Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq:SHMN) announced today that it intends to focus its efforts on realizing value from the Shaman Botanicals portion of its business. Lisa Conte, President and Chief Executive Officer of Shaman Pharmaceuticals, said, "Due to our recent conversations with the FDA, we felt we would face a significant delay in bringing our first pharmaceutical product to market. Given this delay, the company's current cash position, the generally hostile environment for financing novel pharmaceutical products, and the nearer-term potential we see in commercializing products through our Botanicals business, we feel it is in our stockholders' best interest to have the company refocus its efforts." In order to conserve cash, the Company will immediately cease operations in its pharmaceuticals business and will downsize by approximately 60 people, or 65% of its workforce. Efforts will be made to outlicense some of the current pharmaceutical programs, however, most of the company's efforts will be directed toward realizing value through the Botanicals business. "Since we see this as a significant step for the company, we intend to seek stockholder approval in the near future to permit us to move assets and operations from the public Shaman Pharmaceuticals into the privately-held Shaman Botanicals, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Shaman Pharmaceuticals," continued Conte. The Company believes that its near-term operations will better thrive in the simpler private structure and that its employees will be able to focus their activities on the Botanicals opportunity. She continued, "Obviously, our long term interest is in ultimately gaining liquidity for our Shaman Pharmaceuticals stockholders, whether through a spin-off of Botanicals, or otherwise. Once we have established a successful Botanicals business model, including the introduction of near-term, novel products through multiple channels of distribution, including the internet, we believe that Botanicals may itself become a publicly-traded company." Conte commented, "It is only because of the 10 years we have spent developing the pharmaceutical business that we are now so well positioned to enter the botanicals market. We have leveraged our proprietary ethnobotanical approach to identify novel product candidates with the potential for near-term revenue generation." Managing the Botanicals business will be Conte, newly named as President and Chief Operating Officer of Shaman Botanicals, and Loren Israelsen, previously announced as interim CEO. Conte will also remain President and CEO of Shaman Pharmaceuticals. The Company also communicated that it is still in active discussions with a potential partner for the outlicense of SP-303/Provir(TM). All pharmaceutical assets of the company will be outlicensed or sold. Shaman Botanicals, Inc. discovers, develops, and markets botanical dietary supplements derived from tropical plant sources. Shaman Pharmaceuticals, Inc. discovers and develops novel pharmaceutical products for major human diseases by isolating active compounds from tropical plants with a history of medicinal use. Note to Editors: Provir(TM) is a trademark of Shaman Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Shaman Pharmaceuticals(R) is a registered U.S. trademark of the company.

To: Pseudo Biologist who wrote (6391)	2/1/1999 6:31:00 PM
From: mike head	Respond to of 9719

Hi, PB. thanks for the Venter URL. This guy simply upsets me--- every since way back then with Bernadine Healy at the NIH. Anyway, thank you. Pax et Bonum, mch Celera is a light green, crunchy vegetable!

To: Pseudo Biologist who wrote (6391)	2/1/1999 7:12:00 PM
From: Rocketman	Respond to of 9719

I'm not sure if "cute" is what I would use to describe this article. Once again, Venter gets the media attention. Funny how they don't mention INCY or other genomic companies, other than HGSI, who have pretty much seemed to have abandoned genomics in favor of drug development. My guess is that it is an east coast author with no clue about genomics. At least they didn't use the usual erroneous 50,000-100,000 total human genes line. The stuff that Celera and Venter are going to own, is the leftover non-coding regions that INCY has left behind, and that no one will probably figure out what good it is to know until way beyond when the patents expire. They also talk about PKN's new machine as if it is an innovation for them to put out a faster system (no, it is just them playing catch up with MegaBace). This is just a pulp bio piece with no real investigation of the state of the art or the competition - it is intended to wow and annoy the masses. At least a few more people will know the word "Genomics". Rman