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Biotech / Medical : T/FIF Portfolio -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: scaram(o)uche who wrote (829)	4/20/1999 11:41:00 PM
From: jeffbas	Respond to of 1073

Thanks, Rick. I also was able to find the less than flattering comments on the neuroinvestment web site. On the CRF program, it seems from the 2/1/99 announcement that they are looking for a partner. The Tisch investment intrigues me, although it is very small potatoes for them. They are very long term value investors with a habit of buying into out of favor groups.

To: scaram(o)uche who wrote (829)	4/21/1999 10:15:00 PM
From: Biotech Jim	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1073

I finally took a position in NBIX at 4 1/4 (actually my son's college account). I like their portfolio, as it seems quite certain that one of their compounds will make it. Other companies with CRF-1 antagonist programs are Pfizer, DuPont-Merck, and Neurogen, among others. Being first in Phase II is a bonus, as is having the receptor patent positions. I hope that NBIX has a stable of backup compounds, but I have no information on this front. I've heard that there are ways around the receptor patent situation, but I figure it could slow down the discovery process. I might disagree a bit with Dr. Neuroinvestment regarding the CRF-1 mechanism, as perhaps it might not be good to shut down completely the hypothalamic-pituitary- adrenal axis. Perhaps the hypothalamic paraventricular CRF-1 sites are more directly linked to the situation in depression, and not those in corticotropes. In this regard, Wylie Vale's lab has shown recently in an Endocrinology paper that CRF-1 receptor KO mice can still mount an increase in peripheral ACTH and cortisol in the face of stressors such as systemic inflammation. All in all, CRF-1 antagonists still remain a good mechanism for the treatment of depression. BJ