From: L' Ermit (lhermit@hotmail.com)
Date: Wed Feb 13 2002 - 05:25:07 MST
I received a hint about "Antigenics" from a fellow Virian and have been
doing some digging into them. They are currently reasonably stable (dropped
15% in the last month) at around $12.55 and certainly seem set to make quite
an impact if I read their announcements correctly. While nothing about
either drug research or the stock market is certain, if you have some cash
you can afford to lose, they might be a good place to put it and preferably
before their financial announcements in a few days time. Looking at the size
of the target markets and the apparent early success with their approach
[url]http://www.antigenics.com/trials/trial_results.html[/url], I would rate
them as a long-term investment (2 years +) with the potential to generate
quite astonishing returns (possibly better than 10:1) if they continue
getting positive results and people begin to notice them. I'd suggest that
their burn rate and cash on hand position are well matched for them to
survive and possibly to allow some to profit with them. I've appended a few
excerpts from their web site below.
If you don't have cash to burn, their genetic engineering approach is in any
case interesting and worth a look. Following on that, I have been looking at
the astonishing success that genetic engineering approaches have been
attaining more generally e.g.
[http://www.canoe.ca/Health0107/26_cancer-ap.html] and noticed that many
experts are predicting that as we transition to being able to manipulate the
human gene, that "magic bullets" will become available for many of the
diseases we are prone to. This reminded me of less pleasant things.
In a few days time, on the 17th February, it will be 402 years since
Giordian Bruno attended his last barbeque in the Campo de' Fiori in Rome. It
seems that Clement the 8th and the Representatives of the people of the USA
are not at all different when it comes to fear and loathing of science and
new ideas. I refer of course to the scheduled Senate debate on the "Human
Cloning Prohibition Act." Unfortunately, the House has already voted 265-162
(on 2001-07-31) to ban human cloning, and President Bush has already
indicated that he will sign such a prohibition into law when it reaches his
desk - and has urged the Senate to pass it expeditiously. As American
politicians in general seem to be keen on banning human cloning ("Let's stop
now, before the horse gets out of the barn further, before we see a live,
living human embryo." [Sen Sam Brownback, R-Kansas], or in some cases seem
concerned that their constituents will see a vote against this ban as
indicating that they are immoral or against the will of the "gods", it seems
this ban is now all but unstoppable. Even more unfortunately, their
eagerness to stop men from "creating" men is also likely to severely impact
genetic research in the USA. While humankind might be lucky, and see some
other country take over from us, the US has, until now been a leader in this
rapidly evolving field, so this decision is likely to set research back by
several years if not longer. In addition, the wording of the most likely
bill would prevent the importation of the benefits of this research to the
US, so that even were other countries to develop "magic bullets" based on
these technologies, it seems that the representatives of the citizens of the
US are determined that US citizens should not be allowed to benefit from
such research, because of their fears or beliefs. The texts of the bills can
be accessed at [url]http://www.senate.gov/[/url]. Go there, and in the
"Search the 107th Congress for a bill:...or by Keyword:" box enter:
"cloning"
The cost of this bill will undoubtedly be high. Some analysis of the true
cost of banning cloning research is available at
[url]http://reason.com/biclone.shtml[/url] and I recommend that Virian's
read it. Additional resources may be found at
[url]http://dailynews.yahoo.com/fc/Science/Cloning/[/url] and
[url]http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/nation/specials/science/cloning/[/url]
and an article which gives a particularly good look at what happens when
people confuse "morality" and "science" and shows which way the wind is
blowing in the Senate may be found at
[url]http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A33787-2002Jan24.html[/url].
Another indicator is the careful stacking of President Bush II's so called
"ethics committee" which is worth a read at
[url]http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A57155-2002Jan16.html[/url].
[quote]<Note first paragraph order changed to highlight it>
Until now, opponents of therapeutic cloning have largely made their case on
the grounds that it would be difficult to stop someone from making a cloned
baby if it were legal to make cloned embryos. But experts said that if the
new panel supports the other major line of reasoning -- that human embryos
are inherently deserving of protections -- such support could legitimize an
effort to codify fundamentalist views into law.
...
Many of the18 members, including Kass, are well-known conservative thinkers.
And the executive director, a former aide to House Majority Leader Richard
K. Armey (R-Tex.), is a self-described Christian "proclaimer" who favors a
greater religious presence in the schools and who once smashed a roommate's
pornographic videocassette with his bare hands.
...
The council's membership includes several well-known scholars with
conservative leanings. Until Bush named him to chair the council, Kass was a
leading figure in the Bioethics Project, a think tank chaired by William
Kristol, editor of the Weekly Standard, who this week said he would devote
most of his political energy to getting the Senate to pass a total ban on
cloning. Kass has already made clear that he sees the creation of human
embryo clones as a threat to "humanity's humanity."
...
The group's executive director, Dean Clancy, is a "proclaimer" for the
Separation of School and State Alliance, which favors home schooling over
compulsory public education in order to "integrate God and education."
...
Among the other conservative voices on the council are Francis Fukuyama of
Johns Hopkins University; James Q. Wilson of the University of California at
Los Angeles; Washington Post columnist Charles Krauthammer (who several
months ago called for Kass to be named surgeon general); and Princeton
theologian Robert P. George, who has said that, when it comes to such things
as the integrity of Christian doctrine, "there is, I'm afraid, an 'us' and a
'them.' "
[/quote]
Seeing that it is Darwin's birthday, it is perhaps worth remembering that
for thousands of years, we seemed to be "programmed" for death at around age
thirty. That despite thousands of years of religion, this did not change
significantly. Finally, with the advent of modern science, in the last two
centuries alone, we doubled our expected lifespan. In my opinion, this
demonstrates quite clearly why science is better for man than religion. In
that spirit, I recommend that if you are living in America, that you write a
letter, or at least send an email to your senators and congressmen telling
them that you want the best possible life for yourself and your successors,
and that you don't understand why they don't want the same. That even if
they are too afraid of the benefits of science and progress to encourage it
in the United States, that we should not pass laws which will prohibit us
and our children from benefiting from the advances which will hopefully be
made by others who are not trembling in fear of the future or the wrath of
mythical gods who appear to have done far less for man in millennia than
science has done in years. Given the ego of the typical politician, it is
perhaps worth reminding them that those attempting to block the doorways of
progress are seldom remembered fondly by history, and telling them that this
choice by the US makes it quite clear that we prefers to stand in the path
of progress than to advance it. Given that my Senator (Tom Harkin:R Iowa)
has proposed his own less than appealing bill, I don't see letter writing
doing much good, but I'm going to write anyway.
Kind Regards
Hermit [Who hasn't bought Antigenics stock yet, and always reminds people of
the risks attached to the market, and so has nothing to disclose].
PS All URLs referenced successfully accessed 2002-02-12/13
memetag: 3001 < 500,000
[url]http://www.antigenics.com/[/url]
[url]http://finance.lycos.com/home/stocks/quotes.asp?symbols=AGEN[/url]
Financial results are scheduled for February 20
Last October, Oncophage received its first Fast Track designation -- for the
treatment of renal cell carcinoma (kidney cancer) -- making it the first
personalized cancer product to receive Fast Track designation from the FDA.
NEW YORK, Feb 5, 2002 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ -- Antigenics Inc.
(Nasdaq: AGEN) announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) has granted the company's personalized cancer vaccine, Oncophage(R)
(HSPPC-96), Fast Track designation for the treatment of metastatic melanoma.
About Antigenics
Antigenics is developing a new paradigm for disease management. By designing
high efficacy, low toxicity treatments for a wide range of cancers,
infectious diseases, and autoimmune and degenerative disorders, Antigenics'
aim is to create a better way to get better. The company's cancer portfolio
includes Oncophage, a personalized cancer vaccine in Phase III trials and on
the FDA's Fast Track development program, and two liposomal products in
Phase II development: Aroplatin, a third generation platinum
chemotherapeutic; and ATRA-IV, a form of vitamin A used to treat lymphoma.
Other products in development include QS-21, a superior antibody adjuvant
being tested in several advanced clinical vaccine programs in partnership
with leading pharmaceutical companies, and AG-702, a genital herpes
therapeutic in Phase I testing. For more information about Antigenics,
please visit http://www.antigenics.com.
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