According to the National Institutes of Health’s stem cell primer, stem cells have the ability to develop into many different cell types in the body during early life and growth. In many tissues they serve as an internal repair system, dividing essentially without limit to replenish other cells. When a stem cell divides,...
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Shares of Dendreon Corporation (DNDN) have declined significantly from an all-time high of $57.67 in late April 2010 when the company received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for Provenge® , the first active immunotherapy approved for the treatment of cancer in the U.S. Today, shares of Dendreon traded as low as $28.01,...
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In early April 2010, we published a 150-page industry report titled “Cancer Vaccine Therapies: Failures and Future Opportunities,” which included an overview of the cancer immunotherapy market, interviews with several key opinion leaders, profiles of nearly 40 companies, and a discussion of the scientific, clinical, and commercial considerations for the major industry participants. An...
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(Note: the following text is an Executive Summary from our new 150-page report titled “Cancer Vaccine Therapies: Failures and Future Opportunities”) Since the early 1990s, cancer immunotherapy has provided hope to patients, physicians, and investors as a new treatment modality with limited side effects and superior efficacy. Cancer immunotherapy broadly includes passive immunization, active...
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“It’s déjà vu all over again” – Yogi Berra With Opening Day less than a month away, it seems only fitting to reference one of the most quoted personalities of our time to describe our analysis of the biotechnology sector in 2010. In this article, we review our favorable outlook for the industry, draw...
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On the heels of the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) logging its worst annual performance since 1931 and the NASDAQ Composite (COMP) having its worst year since inception in 1971, it may have seemed counter intuitive to provide a bullish outlook for the biotechnology industry in 2009. Nonetheless, at the start of the year...
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Prostate cancer is the most common type of cancer found in American men, other than skin cancer. In 2009, the American Cancer Society estimates that there will be nearly 200,000 new cases of prostate cancer in the United States and that about 27,000 men will die from the disease. It is estimated that there...
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On May 7, 2009, MD Becker Partners LLC hosted its inaugural life sciences roundtable titled “Successful Strategies for Raising Visibility and Capital.” The meeting brought together experts from leading investment banks, life sciences companies, venture investment groups, and the media to discuss the issues surrounding effective two-way communication between a company, the financial community,...
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Investors are hoping that the spark that could reignite investor enthusiasm for biotech stocks is taking place right now. Approximately 30,000 participants are gathering from May 29-June 2, 2009, in Orlando, Florida, for the year’s largest cancer conference. Attendees of the 45th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) will exchange...
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Following a spate of high profile clinical setbacks and regulatory delays that sent the sector into a tailspin during the final week of February 2009 (see prior column), investors shrugged off further disappointing clinical news as merger and acquisition activity helped biotechnology stocks stage a partial recovery last week. The NASDAQ Biotech Index (NBI)...
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