Ohad Hammer

Curagen: Positive Results at ASCO 2009

Sorry, cannot comment on that.

Top Biotech Picks for ASCO 2009 (Part I)

As I wrote, the list is incomplete. Besides, most of the important data for ALTH's drug is already known and were submitted to the FDA.

Bright Prospects for Micromet (Part 2)

You are absolutely right. Should have included that as an option, but I don't think that it's a preferred option for the company.

ohad

Rigel and Seattle Genetics: The Delicate Art of Expectation Management

Thanks Bjorn

BioInvent certainly looks interesting in terms of the tagets they address and the very nice business development activities. I still haven't seen proof of concept data for any of their products, but I guess Roche and Genentech will publish clinical data (good or bad) this year for 403 and 204.
Funnily enough, I am currently evaluating a similar european based antibody discovery company for the biotech portfolio.

Ohad

Rigel and Seattle Genetics: The Delicate Art of Expectation Management

I agree with you with respect to the trials' results, but to me there is no reason to own RIGL until June. Don't see a lot of downside but there's not much to expect for on the other hand. The only thing I can think of is Merck publishing impressive results for the Aurora kinase inhibitor at ASCO, but it isn't likely imo.

'When There's Blood in the Streets', Buy Biotech Stocks

beta delta
I am familiar with the company, but not intimately enough for having an opinion. The idea behind TNFerade is very exciting and has broad applications and the data seems pretty good in pancreatic and H&N cancers. Neverthless, I would be very hesitant in investing in the company before the update in pancreatic cancer, where nothing seems to work.

ohad

'When There's Blood in the Streets', Buy Biotech Stocks

Thanks, KevinMBK.
I don't follow CYPB closely, but I think there is a lot of skepticism towards upcoming phase III results for milnacipran . Their cash position is enviable, no doubt.

Ohad

'When There's Blood in the Streets', Buy Biotech Stocks

Thanks, jturano7423.

I don't think it has a lot to do with guts, but basic common sense ( which seems to be a scarce commodity these days). History shows that people tend to exaggerate to both ways, and what we're witnessing, including today's selloff is merely a result of irrational behavior. Yes, things don't look good at the moment but in my opinion, now is the time to build positions selectively in segments and companies who can weather the storm. I think good biotech companies represent such a tremendous opportunity because their products and technology will always be in demand. Even companies who won't have a commercially available drug in the near future will be able to license drugs and technology to the pharmaceutical giants, who have deep pockets and are starved for new drugs. Remember: There is always a good market for good drugs.
I personally feel much more comfortable buying today, when all the fund managers and investors are dumping everything they have. They were the ones that accumulated all these stocks in the past year or two.

Ohad

'When There's Blood in the Streets', Buy Biotech Stocks

Sorry petpesie, I am not familiar with BioMS. I am sure there are plenty of biotech companies that are suffering as a result of this panic. From what you describe, it is in good position because it has Lilly paying for clinical development, and it doesn't seem that it would stop doing just because there's a recession.

Genentech’s New ADC Platform Has Much Potential, but Is Yet to Be Tested on Humans

They might want to have PFS data from the 100 patient phase II trial before committing more resources. In the meantime, they are making all the necessary arrangements for a pivotal study. The phase II study in Tykerb relapsed patients can be amended into a pivotal trial so the lack of announcement does not delay the commercialization of T-DM1.

Immunogen's Wild Swings Due to Lack of Information at ASCO

No doubt MITI is one of hte most exciting biotechs out there:

www.hammerstockblog.co.../

btw, the dose was 60 micrograms per m2

Immunogen's Wild Swings Due to Lack of Information at ASCO

No doubt MITI is one of the most exciting biotech companies out there.

www.hammerstockblog.co.../


btw, the dose was 60 micrograms per m2

Seattle Genetics at ASH 2007 (Part I)

What makes you say these patients were "very healthy sick people"? Actually, older AML by patients are considered by definition, a high risk population. Besides, half of the patietns in the trial had been pretreated with chemo.

trastuzumab-DM1 is without a doubt the most important and promising ADC out there. I don't think the data from SABC is new. It looks like the original dose escalation study. I couldn't find any new material about the weekly phase I or weekly phase II. Is there somehing I am missing?

Ohad

Seattle Genetics' Bright Future - Part I

Hi Drew
I am long SGEN & IMGN.

The "Naked" Truth About Antibodies For Cancer Therapy

Thank you for your great replies. IMGN is shaping up to be a true leader in the immunoconjugate field, but no one knows exactly when this market will kick into gear. I must admit, though, that their Trastuzumab-DM1 results have been far from being impressive imho. They haven't published a scientific article about this trial so perhaps it's too early to comment, but the results look as if it was just another naked antibody, instead of a highly toxic compound (cytotoxicity of maytansine is thought to be 200- to 1000-fold higher than that of other tubulin polymerization drugs like taxol, and its deriviatives, like DM1, are even more toxic). it doesn't imply their technology is inferior, it just means that they'll have to try agian and again until they make it. in drug development statisitics are alway against us, so many agents must be evaluated before finding a truly successful one.

I am planning to write an article about IMGN but for now I am working on several other articles, including a SGEN article which (hopefully) will be published next month.

Ohad