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

To: Mike McFarland who wrote (938)	6/5/1999 12:17:00 AM
From: Walter Morton	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1073

Everything you need to know about CIST is in that link that I posted. The people on the CIST thread don't talk about the stock. They/we just complain and wait for it to go up. What do I like about CIST? Message 9894857

To: Mike McFarland who wrote (938)	6/5/1999 12:48:00 AM
From: John Metcalf	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 1073

I don't recommend that you buy Cistron. Here are a few facts: the company's market cap is less than its cash on hand, the Board has fired the CEO and put the company up for sale. They will receive another $3mm from IMNX in November 99, and a final $1mm in November '00 in settlement of a patent infringement action. Cistron's primary property is rights to Interleukin 1 beta, which may be therapeutically useful in several ways. They have a $32mm deal ($1.50 per share in bio-bucks) with Pasteur Merrieux Connaught for IL 1-B as a vaccine adjuvant, and could sell other rights in cancer treatment. They have sold their rights to IL 1B as a reagent to Techne, and will receive a blushingly modest royalty. Rick Harmon posted a great deal of useful information on Cistron, including their patent rights to PAI-2, and a series of possible business plans. In view of Cistron's persistent failure to execute obvious plans, Rick also posted instructions for dialing and using a telephone. Then he advised on how to instruct a secretary to dial a telephone. Then he gave up, with recriminations against the outgoing CEO for being a lame @#(%^$!#%er. So, where are we now? They still have about twice as much cash as market value, and Genome Securities (Robert Naismith) has been hired to sell, merge, bury, recycle, or otherwise dispose of the company. Walter Morton still believes they are going to hit a home run, despite having never come to bat in the last several years of games of innings. I believe that any biotech (or other company) could offer to buy them out at least at cash value, which is far better than a floorless convertible, and probably better than an offshore placement, from the acquirer's point of view. If one buys CIST at cash (for stock), one avoids dilution and gets some free business opportunities in IL 1-B rights and PAI-2. A better company than CIST could parlay these into money. I think CIST will be sold, promptly, in the area of 60 cents to $1.25. It currently sells for $.30. But - it has been valued below cash for a long time. The new fact is the "eat-me" sign on Genome Securities website. (*as Peter S. says-:)