dougout

Dendreon Gets Another Analyst Thumbs-Down

Mike, please remember who's really taking it on the chin when another analyst piles on against Provenge's prospects. It's not you. The primary victims are the people with prostate cancer and their families and friends, who would prefer access to a breakthrough cancer therapy that almost certainly works (the remaining question is to what extent it works), is certainly safe, and has no significant side effects. Secondary victims are those with cancers other than prostate, that Dendreon is working on, who must wait much longer for their immunotherapies, because of the costly delays in getting Provenge approved. The third set of victims, admittedly far less penalized than the medical victims, because "it's only money," are the Dendreon shareholders. Every investor must accept the possibility of an investment gone bad, but it's frustrating how the plague of naked short selling, artificial "management" of the stock through gigantic option open interest, and extensive and documented financial conflicts of interest within the FDA and a few of its consultants, have all combined to keep the financial benefits limited to the short sellers and short-term traders.

How to crush innovation and hope? Just watch what's going on at the FDA and in the stock market, with Dendreon. How to help? Don't whine about taking it on the chin. Instead, present the truth, and keep presenting it. Give your readers the links to the conference call announcing the interim results, which shows Provenge works, and that based on similarities between this and previous trials, the odds are better than 50/50 that it will be approved in mid-2009. Give them the history, showing how the FDA took the unprecedented step of going against its own advisory committee, to deny approval of Provenge, and how the FDA commissioner made great speeches about the golden future of individualized immunotherapy, and then proceeded to allow it to be stomped on. Tell them about the 30-million share short interest in DNDN. In other words, Mike, give your readers the amazing context surrounding Dendreon medicine and finances. I know you can do this. You have in the past, and we hope you will now and in the future. Thanks.