Portfolio Manager

Dendreon: The FDA's Commissioner Doth Protest Too Much!

I agree that Pazdur has behaved in a criminally negligent and irrational manner, with Provenge and many other therapies. Unfortunately, though, the conflict of interest question may be a bit of a red herring. Most active researchers will have multiple corporate affiliations. There will be very few without any conflicts of interest. The conflicts of interest listed above (stock ownership, consulting relationships, funding for research) are fairly visible, but there are also many other less visible conflicts of interest, allegiances, etc. Can someone who spent much of his life or her doing research on chemotherapy offer an unbiased opinion about a cancer vaccine? It will depend on the individual. But you can't evaluate cancer vaccines without involving oncologists. The only solution is to create a culture of rational debate at the FDA, and to severely discourage the making of bad, self-interested arguments.

Biotech Stocks: Sector Outlook and Top Picks

ZymoGenetics is certainly undervalued right now. The total market cap is less than the value of their approved drug, Recothrom, much less their pipeline. Their team has now developed seven approved drugs. If you think about the total number of new drugs approved in a given year, seven drugs is a pretty impressive number.

BioMarin is also an excellent company, but as far as I can tell it is not quite as grossly undervalued as ZymoGenetics.