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Biotech / Medical : ArQule -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Dr. John M. de Castro who wrote (327)	4/22/1999 10:39:00 AM
From: tommysdad	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 399

Can I take a shot at these? 1) Too many biotechs have an uncertain future. By doing deals with these companies, ARQL runs the risk of tying up their best assets (the molecules) with companies that can never take them forward. 2) There is information in negative results, which is surely why Pharma wants "knowledge of the exact compounds". In addition, my understanding is everyone screens the same compounds, so collaborators run the risk of screening compounds someone else has already picked through. Maybe they're shooting for some type of "exclusivity period" for certain libraries? 3) Deals take a long time for the lawyers to pick through, even after the essential details have been agreed upon. The CEO certainly implies they are at that stage. Deals are clearly on the way, I think.

To: Dr. John M. de Castro who wrote (327)	4/22/1999 4:38:00 PM
From: Dr. Voodoo	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 399

>>>>"focus on those with greatest potential" <<<< The situation for financing is as bad as it has ever been. Thus the competition to sell compounds and do deals is fierce. My comment is that a body with 98.6F and money is probably all the great potential they need, provided they are not compound limited. If they do not have much compound then maybe they should be selective as to who gets it, but I still think getting their compounds discovered might be better than getting the right company to discover it.... >>>>>>>....not allowing Pharmas knowledge of the exact compounds that they are supplying....<<<<<<<<<<<< Arqule's competition allows you to cherry pick. Compounds have already become CHEAP. Companies currently practicing combichem are buying compounds from Trega etc. No strings attached, no drug discovery deals, just the compounds. Purely from a lead discovery view, buying stuff you didn't make in house is a great way to expand your diversity, if your screening targets are unique. The only way they will stay competitive in the present market is to make it extremely easy for people to get access to their compound information including some of the biological data, if they hope to do compound only type deals. This presumes that the compounds they are making are novel and "drug like". Targeted drug discovery deals are still the way to go if they can get them. I think that the buyers (big pharma) are saturated presently and are in part disappointed with what were some irrationally high expectations of combichem drug discovery. On the other hand it will always be more efficient for them to buy compounds rather than make them in house. Jury is not in yet. From a science point of view I still think Arqule is a major player and should come out ahead of their smaller competitors, but times are tough and it's time to figure out what the next level for combichem is. V