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Biotech / Medical : VaxGen Inc.-The 1st AIDS Vaccine in Phase 3 HumanTrials -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: glen who wrote (10)	5/28/1999 8:58:00 AM
From: William Stanton	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 250

VaxGen is headed by world famous retrovirologist Don Francis, M.D. (see "The Band Played On"; see "Outbreak") and Bob Nowinski (Pathogenesis; Ikos). The vaccine is based on the same surface antigen recognition technology as was employed in the Hepatitis B vaccine (the phase III trials of which were run by Dr. Don Francis); and the current vaccine contains two antigen targets (third and fourth antigen targets are being developed). The vaccine was 100% effective in chimps -- which is currently the only model available for HIV infection. The phase I and phase II trials were successful. Phase III is proceeding apace. The potential market for a 70% efficacious HIV vaccine is 85 billion dollars. The FDA, which is very serious about getting a vaccine on the market, has officially informed VaxGen that their vaccine need only be 30% efficacious in order to be approved; and, at this level it would have a vibrant market for selected high-risk individuals and health care workers. At 50% efficaciousness the vaccine market would expand exponentially. VaxGen has the official backing and support of the NIH (see their web site) as explained by the NIH head, Dr. Anthony Fauci in a press release last summer. The company is also supported by the CDC which is currently assisting VaxGen in its Thailand trials. There are detractors of the VaxGen approach to an AIDS vaccine, but their arguments involve theoretical issues. Don Francis, who worked with Jonas Salk (who faced the exact same type of criticism), believes that vaccines are always developed by the pragmatic stepwise approach he has used in developing AIDSVAX -- the same approach used in developing all of the other great vaccines in history. As an investment opportunity, this is an oil well that is 3/4 drilled. So far, all the indicators show that there is oil in the ground and the drill is headed straight for it. As a historical item, VaxGen may give an investor a piece of one of the seminal developments in medical history.