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There was a NR today:
Javelin Pharmaceuticals' Latest Study of Dyloject(TM) Confirms Minimal Effect on Platelet Function, Differentiating Dyloject from Ketorolac and Aspirin
Tuesday January 8, 12:22 pm ET
SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Javelin Pharmaceuticals Inc. (AMEX: JAV - News) today will present results of a new Phase I study of Dyloject™ (injectable diclofenac sodium) demonstrating minimal effects upon platelet function at a clinically effective dose. In contrast, aspirin and ketorolac each impaired platelet aggregation significantly. Inhibition of platelet aggregation with Dyloject and another comparator, Cataflam (an oral formulation of diclofenac) was detectable but not clearly outside the normal range, although Cataflam inhibited platelet aggregation slightly more than Dyloject. These findings will be presented by Javelin’s CEO/CMO Dr. Daniel Carr as part of a broader corporate update about Javelin at the 26th Annual JPMorgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco.
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“These results are consistent with our earlier observations of less surgical site bleeding with Dyloject than ketorolac at clinically pertinent doses,” said Dr. Carr. “This commercially relevant data further demonstrates what we believe are the comparative advantages of Dyloject over ketorolac, the only approved injectable NSAID in the US market.”
About the Study
In this single center, open-label, crossover study, 30 normal healthy male volunteers were randomized to receive a single bolus intravenous injection of Dyloject™ 75 mg, an oral dose of Cataflam 50 mg, an intravenous dose of ketorolac tromethamine 30 mg, and an oral dose of aspirin 325 mg. In this "unblinded" study, patients received all four identical treatments the identity of which was known by the investigator and the patient.
Platelet function was assessed at multiple time points up to 24 hours following exposure to each of the test drugs. The primary observations were the times (in seconds) to formation of a platelet plug upon exposure to either collagen+ADP or collagen+epinephrine, as measured in standard fashion using the PFA-100 platelet analyzer.
The study demonstrated marked, prolonged alterations in platelet function after both ketorolac and aspirin, with highly statistically significant alterations in PFA-100 results noted for both collagen+epinephrine and collagen+ADP induced aggregation. In contrast, the effects of Dyloject and Cataflam, although discernible, achieved a maximum magnitude comparable to the upper range of normal.
There were no serious or significant adverse events and the most common side effects reported, regardless of treatment group, were flatulence (13%), and headache ( <1%). These side effects were comparable across treatment arms and consistent with established safety data worldwide for the active ingredient, diclofenac.
Full results of the study will be reported at an upcoming scientific meeting.
DCGN
Additional risk factor for vascular disease. For some reason, the company did not PR this. Perhaps they did not consider it significant enough.
Not only lipids and inflammation: Insight into a new cause of heart attack and other vascular disease
Reykjavik, January 6, 2008 – deCODE scientists today report that the genetic variant on chromosome 9p21 that the company has linked to increased risk of heart attack is also associated with up to 70% increase in risk of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) and intracranial aneurysm (IA). This is the first common genetic variant ever found to associate with either condition. The paper, entitled ‘The same sequence variant on 9p21 associates with myocardial infarction, abdominal aortic aneurysm and intracranial aneurysm,’ is published today in the online edition of Nature Genetics, at www.nature.com/ng.
AAA and IA are the most common aneurysms – balloon-like protrusions on arteries in the abdomen and head, respectively – and are potentially lethal if they are left untreated and burst. "Today’s findings enhance the importance of our 9p21 variant when it comes to risk of cardiovascular disease, and suggest that it confers this risk by affecting how artery walls respond to other risk factors such as atherosclerotic plaque and inflammation," said Kari Stefansson, CEO of deCODE. "As we bring these findings into our cardiovascular therapeutics program, we are also incorporating them into our deCODE MI diagnostic test and our deCODEme™ personal genome analysis service. With today's discovery and others we expect to announce in the weeks and months ahead, we underscore our global leadership in human genetics and our commitment to convert this leadership into products and the products into profit for our shareholders."
Six months ago, deCODE reported that this SNP confers significantly increased risk of coronary artery disease (CAD) and accounts for roughly one-third of early-onset heart attacks. This discovery has now been replicated in studies of ten populations. The study published today was aimed in part at investingating how this risk is conferred. To do so, the deCODE team, - enlisting the participation of academic researchers and thousands of their patients from Iceland, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Finland, the US, Belgium, Sweden, Italy, Denmark and the UK – analyzed the association of the variant with several other cardiovascular conditions. The results show that the ‘G’ allele is suggestively but not definitively associated with conditions involving the buildup of atherosclerotic plaque, including peripheral artery disease and large artery stroke. However those with one copy of this version of the SNP had a more than 30% greater risk of both AAA and IA than non-carriers. Those with two copies – that is, who inherited the risk variant form both parents – were at more than 70% greater risk of both AAA and IA than were non-carriers. What heart attack and these types of aneurysm have in common is that all three can result from an abnormal or deficient remodeling and/or repair of vessel walls.
The U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) supported the recruitment of AAA sample sets and controls from Belgium, Canada and Pennsylvania. In addition, the Finnish intracranial aneurysm sample collection was funded in part by NIH’s National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
DCGN is my largest position, and they have recently entered the DNA testing market. Much as I am skeptical about the accuracy of the data for the consumer, this is the first time that I've seen a number put to the market size. Although I don't believe the 200mil (see below), the speculative number is much larger that I had imagined, so it may bear watching. I am still smarting from my opinion of about 15 years ago that all this talk of internet marketing was hot air. 8(
http://tinyurl.com/3afsqb
DNA Of A New Breed Of Firms Actually Is DNA, Genetic Code
December 21, 2007: 08:05 PM EST
Dec. 24, 2007 (Investor's Business Daily delivered by Newstex) --
The mystery of genetics now can be solved with a trip to Rite Aid (OOTC:RADCO) (NYSE:RAD) -- good news for genomics companies.
DNA testing of various sorts has been available for a decade, but the tests have been costly and doctors have had to administer them. But that's changing as firms like Salt Lake City-based Sorenson Genomics begin offering genetic testing direct to consumers at lower prices.
Sorenson Genomics' paternity test is sold under the brand name Identigene and has a suggested retail price of $29.99. It's available in eight states, on the West Coast at some Rite Aid RAD stores and in the Midwest at some Meijer's stores. It will be sold nationwide by early 2008, says Douglas Fogg, Sorenson's chief operating officer.
Most of the companies in this field didn't expect to get into consumer sales, so the emergence of the niche "is found money," said Edward Tenthoff, a Piper Jaffray (NYSE:PJC) analyst who covers another DNA testing firm, deCode Genetics (NASDAQ:DCGN) DCGN. DeCode recently launched deCODEme, a service that enables individuals to get a detailed look at their own genome for $985.
Paternity Test Made Easy
"These companies have already done the work, and selling direct to consumers is a much faster way to commercialize these discoveries," Tenthoff said.
When Sorenson acquired Identigene, a Houston-based genetics lab, in 2001, Identigene was experimenting with selling paternity tests for $400 online. New technology made it practical to drop the price, Fogg says, but even with a drastic cut, customers still weren't flocking. Sorenson concluded that the biggest customer base for the paternity-testing product isn't the participants -- it's mothers and grandmothers who buy the test for someone else. So Sorenson began developing a product to sell in stores.
Sorenson, which has 100 employees, was founded by James LeVoy Sorenson, a medical gear entrepreneur with more than 40 patents who developed the first computerized heart monitor. He's founded a number of companies, including Sorenson Research, which he sold to Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) ABT in 1980.
Sorenson Genomics estimates the size of the DNA paternity market to be $200 million. "We want to win a sizable share," Fogg said. (At $40 a pop, so to speak, that's 5mil tests/year. I have a hard time with that number)
Sorenson Genomics also has launched a second company called Genetree.com, a sort of Facebook for genealogists. Enthusiast pays either $99 or $149 for tests of DNA markers that are useful for determining familial relationships.
The genealogy industry is a $3 billion-a-year business, says Genetree President Matt Cupal. He says genetic testing will expand the market, because it relieves potential hobbyists of some of the need to do exacting records research.
The direct-to-consumer genetics company that probably is getting the most attention is 23andme, of Mountain View, Calif. Its backers include Google GOOG and Genentech (NYSE:DNA) DNA. At the end of November, it began offering a Web-based, all-purpose genetic test service that offers customers a $999 scan of their DNA. The results include information about genetic-linked health risks and genealogical information about ethnic ancestry.
The company name refers to the 23 pairs of chromosomes in the human body. Its founders are health care investor Anne Wojcicki, wife of Google co-founder Sergey Brin, and Linda Avery, a biopharmaceutical industry veteran.
"We're at the beginning of a whole new generation of genetic information, and that information will become more a part of daily life," Wojcicki said.
For now, the information can be very difficult for people to find, and that's where she sees the opportunity for 23andme.
"In Silicon Valley you see all these social network Web sites happening and you see things like Wikipedia, but there's nothing like that in health care," she said. "Our goal is to drive that kind of efficiency."
Profitable genetic testing is not just for humans. If the pound didn't tell you Fido's ancestry, a $65 test from MetaMorphix will.
A Dog Of A Test
Beltsville, Md.-based MetaMorphix started out as a company focused on improving production in the cattle industry, using DNA testing to determine which animals would produce the tenderest meat. For eight years, CEO Edwin Quattlebaum says he has struggled to build the business. Instead of relying on venture capital, he has turned to a group of wealthy individuals. Some months things have been so tough, he couldn't even make the payroll. He had to go back repeatedly for another injection of capital.
Then last year, one of his researchers came up with a test that allowed the company to identify whether meat sold as "Angus" actually comes from registered Angus beef cattle. Quattlebaum said it sounded like a good, moneymaking idea until he explained it to his cattle-breeding customers, who he says were horrified at the prospect of a test that would actually require that meat sold as "Angus" be Angus.
In jest, the team contemplated testing dogs -- and that's the idea that turned out to be a winner.
Since March, more than 100,000 people have purchased the Canine Heritage dog-breed test kit, the company says. The kit lets owners swab their dogs' mouths and send the result to the firm's California lab to determine which of 110 breeds make up their pet.
Quattlebaum is amazed: "As my wife said to me, 'After all this, it's that damn dog product that's going to make this company profitable.'"
Interesting. Is this this the standard treatment?
What happens to the ova when they are released if there is no uterus?
Thanks,
Bob
I find it surprising that the induction of early menopause is not mentioned as a side-effect of the hysterectomy.
I would think that this is an important consideration in the choice of therapy.
Bob
i expect it portends a negative FDA K result and a big dilution announcement which will kill the share price for two years.
Amazing what wealth of information you were able to glean from an announcement the gist of which was that they were waiting for confirmatory notes from a meeting.
PGS,
Thanks,
Bob
Interesting approach. Perhaps they will be able to skirt one of the bugaboos of bio investing - endless dilution.
PRESS RELEASE: Celtic Pharma announces Launch of Two New Funds
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Celtic Pharma announces Launch of Two New Funds
First Celtic Pharma fund now fully invested
New York, London, Bermuda, 11th December 2007 - Celtic Pharma, the global private equity firm focused on the development of pharmaceuticals and biological drugs, today announces that the firm's principals, Stephen Evans-Freke and John Mayo CBE, are to launch two new follow-on funds targeting the pharmaceutical industry's need for well developed products. Celtic Pharma's first fund, Celtic Pharmaceutical Holdings L.P., is now over 75% committed and, once new transactions that have agreed term sheets and are in legal documentation have been completed, will be fully invested.
In accordance with its partnership and principals' agreements, one fund, led by Stephen Evans-Freke, will continue with the model of the first fund on a larger scale, buying mid-stage product development programs in order to manage them through late stage development and subsequent auction to the established pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. The other fund, led by John ayo, will take controlling stakes in biotechnology, small pharmaceutical and special purpose companies, directing the development of key products within the acquired portfolio through to the value inflexion point at the completion of proof-of-principle Phase 2 clinical trials, the point at which pharmaceutical companies wish to buy.
The principals will continue in their current roles with respect to the first fund, as will the existing New York, London and Bermuda based management teams. Separate, more detailed announcements will be made by each of the new funds in due course.
Commenting on today's announcement, Stephen Evans-Freke and John Mayo said:
"In Celtic Pharma's first fund we have assembled a diverse range of projects which are all progressing satisfactorily through clinical development and we believe will create substantial value for our investors. We have already begun the exit process for some of these products which will gather pace during 2008. Accordingly, it is now an appropriate time to be commencing the launch of new funds - Celtic Pharma's first fund has shown that the private equity model for pharmaceutical investment and development is highly successful and we look forward to replicating this success in our next funds."
About Celtic Pharmaceutical Holdings L.P.
Celtic Pharmaceutical Holdings L.P. ("Celtic Pharma") is a global private equity investment firm focused on the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. Celtic Pharma was founded by Stephen Evans-Freke and John Mayo, CBE and is based in Bermuda, with offices in New York and London. Celtic Pharma acquires and invests in late stage pharmaceutical programs and manages these programs through their development to regulatory approval. Celtic Pharma's aim is to bridge the gap between the established pharmaceutical companies' new product pipeline crisis and the biotech industry's capital drought. For further information, please visit Celtic Pharma's website at www.celticpharma.com
PGS,
Below is a link to a piii by DeCode. It has been suspended due to a "tableting" issue, but there is more going on with it (reformulated to daily, recommencement date put off, etc.)
I wanted to get your opinion on the target, since they have anther drug in earlier clinicals aimed at the same pathway.
http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00353067?spons=decode&rank=1
TIA,
Bob
Remove foot from mouth department
http://tinyurl.com/2jegdl
DNA pioneer James Watson is blacker than he thought
The genome of James Watson
The genome of James Watson
Jonathan Leake, Science Editor
JAMES WATSON, the DNA pioneer who claimed Africans are less intelligent than whites, has been found to have 16 times more genes of black origin than the average white European.
An analysis of his genome shows that 16% of his genes are likely to have come from a black ancestor of African descent. By contrast, most people of European descent would have no more than 1%.
The study was made possible when he allowed his genome - the map of all his genes - to be published on the internet in the interests of science.
“This level is what you would expect in someone who had a great-grandparent who was African,” said Kari Stefansson of deCODE Genetics, whose company carried out the analysis. “It was very surprising to get this result for Jim.”
Related Links
* DNA of Dr Watson
* Race row Nobel winner suspended, scraps tour
* Avoid Boring People
Watson won the Nobel prize, with Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins, after working out the structure of DNA in 1953. However, he provoked an outcry earlier this year when he suggested black people were genetically less intelligent than whites.
This weekend his critics savoured the wry twist of fate. Sir John Sulston, the Nobel laureate who helped lead the consortium that decoded the human genome, said the discovery was ironic in view of Watson’s opinions on race. “I never did agree with Watson’s remarks,” he said. “We do not understand enough about intelligence to generalise about race.”
The backlash against Watson forced him to step down as chancellor of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, New York state, after 39 years at the helm. He had said he was “inherently gloomy about the prospects for Africa” because “all our social policies are based on the fact that their intelligence is the same as ours - whereas all the testing says not really”.
The analysis by deCODE Genetics, an Icelandic company, also shows a further 9% of Watson’s genes are likely to have come from an ancestor of Asian descent. Watson was not available for comment.
James Watson: genetic risk to diseases compared with other people of European ancestry
- Age-related macular degeneration (blindness) - 20% less than average
- Asthma - 31% less than average
- Breast cancer - 1.45 times greater than average
- Coeliac disease - 66% less than average
- Colon (bowel) cancer - 16% greater than average
- Glaucoma - 1.42 rimes greater than average
- Inflammatory bowel disease - 31% less than average
- Multiple sclerosis - 29% greater than average
- Heart attack - 33% less than average
- Obesity - 5% greater than average
- Prostate cancer - 1.02 times greater than average
- Psoriasis - 31% less than average
- Restless leg - 29% less than average
- Rheumatoid arthritis - 20% greater than average
- Type 1 diabetes - 65% less than average
- Type 2 diabetes - 33% greater than average
Results are calculated by comparing one person's genetic sequence to the sequences of other participants in studies published in world literature on genetic risk for disease
OT
You are switching the subject. We are talking about what the rational decision was post-panel. My contention is that it was to sell.
In fact I sold about 75% of my holdings in DNDN at that time because I thought it went up too far without an FDA approval.
Anybody that made real money on it this year did the same.
So the allegation against Dew - that his advice re DNDN is worthless - is not correct.
Despite this, I disagree w/him on RPRX. My gut tells me Joe P is not a crook.
Back to our regular programming.
Genetic testing/counseling
This field is being co-opted to a certain degree by the newly spawned on-line services - 23andme, decodeme, navigenics.
Given that the interaction of genes to express particular traits is not quite understood, the whole enterprise seems somewhat suspect to me.
Regards,
Bob
Well, considering that most of my market gains this year were from DNDN, I'm rather glad I didn't listen to him.
I am in a similar position but, in all fairness, that had more to do with timing than with anything else. For the MANY investors that bought in the teens and twenties, listening to the naysayers would have been the better move.
Regards,
Bob
Dew,
Thanks for the sentiment.
Regards,
Bob
Dew,
There are levels of trust.
Small bio CEOs routinely oversell possible markets for their products, timelines, etc. (sometimes I think that this is a boilerplate requirement for making it to a bio ceo.)
On the other hand, hiding data, especially from a potential partner or suitor is a pretty grave offense, which could lead to personal liability. I'm not getting that sense here.
You have much more exposure to these guys than I do, but if I were to rule out every bio whose CEO was not Snow White, I think that I'd have to give up on the sector.
Regards,
Bob
Dew,
Frankly, the only thing that I need Joe P to be able to do is to sell the company.
His long-term relationship with the FDA is a moot point.
If you have a reason to doubt the worth of the drug or, better stated, if you have reason to think that a suitor has reason to doubt the worth of the drug, then that's a different conversation.
Regards,
Bob
It would be a much better use of the board readers' time if you took it to email.
It may be difficult to believe, but other than you and the other guy, nobody cares about this issue.
Regards,
Bob
Gabe,
Out of curiosity:
You were bemoaning not selling when JAV was over $4. Did you avail yourself of today's opportunity?
Bob
Gabe,
A lot depends on what you choose to call successful. At $3/share, any financing will be quite dilutive and will usually require sweetners.
Google Rodman & Renshaw. They specialize in micro-cap bios and I'm sure they have handle a number of them sub-$5.
Bob
Jeff,
I think that the anemia indication was characterized by you as low-hanging fruit, and I tend to agree.
In term of the investment return, however, it seems that the monetizing event is being pushed out. Anemia will most likely not be the driver for it.
What is the market potential (w/o off-label speculation) for the anemia indication?
Thanks,
Bob
I believe the reaction is to the 1500 pt safety number.
The Anemia IND conforms to guidance given at recent investor conferences, and is not really news.
The chronic use indication, though has been pushed back.
Anyone know what is the current patient safety count?
Hopefully this will be asked tomorrow.
I was a buyer today, though in the high 7s - I got to the computer close to the closing bell.
Regards,
Bob
Both Tercica and Insmed had their first drugs approved within the last couple of years.
And even if your contention was true, it is a completely meaningless stat.
Bob
I was referring to Androxal
Nerf,
You are assuming that the FDA agrees to an NDA for the suggested indications and with the suggested endpoints. I do not believe these to be prudent assumptions.
FWIW, I believe that Androxal has been removed from the valuation of this company.
Regards,
Bob
io_io,
While the time-line for an Androxal NDA is long, this time the setting is REAL in the sense of medical need, and issues of safety and the stigma of abuse potential become far less a concern.
Yes, that it will not be a DEA scheduled subs is a positive. On the other hand, it is unclear to me that the FDA will accept either of the proposed endpoints. They are just willing to talk about them once data is in hand - at least that is what I garner form the slide.
Regards,
Bob
New slide deck available on Edgar.
A couple of 1st impressions:
- Proellex first NDA in a year for Anemia
- slide 29 - Summary of Androxal meet. What has been established is what will not be acceptable as endpoints (T, QOL, avoidance of side effects of T-replacement therapy) but the acceptable endpoints are still fuzzy: FDA "will consider" proposal for metabolic disorder or infertility as endpoints.
Regards,
Bob
1. The job of IR is to pump the company. You should know that anything they say is meaningless. If you put $1 mil into a micro co, you should be speaking with management.
2. The analysts will say their piece tomorrow or Monday.
Bob
one analyst asked about the burn moving forward. JAV estimates that it will be about double by the end of 2008 which may have some analysts and investors concerned. otherwise I'm stupefied by the selloff today, despite what's going on in the macro market
I have yet to listen to the call, but if the above is what was actually said, I am not in the least surprised by the sell off. They will be out of $ by the q3, which means that they need to raise capital.
The shorting, if that is what is going on, is either in anticipation of covering at lower, post-financing prices, or it is being done by those entities that expect to participate in the financing and are shorting against the box. In fact, the latter group may well be the reason why the sp has dived with little reason over the last few months.
Regards,
Bob
They could do a million share buyback and take the stock to new highs,
Development stage bios don't do share buy-backs. Because of the uncertain timelines and the certainty of cash burn before revenues, they need to hoard the cash.
I would have deep doubts about the competence of mgt if they announced such a thing.
I can't think of an equivalent company that had a buy-back. I'm not sure why you believe this to be in the realm of possibility.
Regards,
Bob
It's obviously a plot by Giuliani, Bush, and Podolski. They hatched it after they brought down the WTC.
the approval time for new product licences had increased to 153 net working days or 404 gross calendar days...
138 working days per year?
difficulties in recruiting professional assessment staff,
They need to give them more perks - perhaps some additional vacation time.
Regards
Bob
That may well be the way they go once they have clarity on (or an SPA) for the PIII.
WRT the special dividend, I would not hold my breath.
Regards,
Bob
OT
io_io,
My sympathy on Dor. You'll make it back on the next one.
Regards,
Bob
Financing
A financing now would remove uncertainty, but I don't know how well it will be received.
The last financing was done at close to peak pricing, and it was not oversubscribed, which leaves me wondering how much stock the underwriters were stuck with. It also explains some of the subsequent price weakness.
That, together with the lack of demand evidenced by the thin trading, does not give me lots of confidence that the price/dilution required of a financing now will be beneficial.
Maybe debt, if available, would be a better way. A partnership for A would be best, IMO.
Bob
In the same vein, I had shares in AMEV when Lilly bought Applied Molecular Evolution about 4 years ago. In a post-merger filing, the timeline of the discussions was made public. Note that prior to the formal offer, there was no public announcement
They started discussions when the sp was about $3. The discussions were not made public. The initial $ requirement by the AMEV team was about $20 (note the discrepancy). There were a number of meetings (perhaps 6-7) where LLY kept increasing the offer. The market price for the shares kept climbing, despite the lack of announcements. Not coincidentally, there were a number of post-merger insider trading prosecutions. The price reached ~$12 when the formal offer was made at $18, and it was accepted. The process took about a year.
The take-away is that the price of the asset will be reached, if it reflects its value. I don't worry about the public share price so much.
Regards,
Bob
Testosterone Deficiency Unlikely Cause of Glucose Intolerance
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Sept 14 - Two years of testosterone replacement had little effect on carbohydrate tolerance, insulin secretion or glucose tolerance in elderly men with testosterone deficiency , according to research conducted by Dr. Rita Basu of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and associates.
Dr. Basu's team randomized 55 testosterone-deficient men between the ages of 64 and 77 to a testosterone patch that delivered a dose of 5 mg/day or placebo for 2 years.
At baseline, subjects had bioavailable testosterone concentrations below 103 ng/dL and DHEA concentrations below 1.57 micrograms/mL, which put them below the 15th percentile for healthy young men.
Fasting and postprandial glucose, insulin and C-peptide concentrations, endogenous glucose production and glucose disposal were compared in the two groups at baseline and after 2 years of testosterone replacement therapy.
Measurements were similar in both groups both before and after testosterone replacement. "Furthermore, the change over time in insulin action and glucose effectiveness...as well as insulin secretion and hepatic insulin clearance (measured with the C-peptide model), did not differ in the testosterone and placebo groups," Dr. Basu's team reports in the August issue of Diabetes Care.
"Testosterone deficiency is unlikely the cause of the age-associated deterioration in glucose tolerance commonly observed in elderly men. These data also argue against the premise that testosterone replacement will delay or prevent the progression of the age-associated deterioration in glucose tolerance that is commonly observed in elderly men," the Mayo Clinic team concludes.
Diabetes Care2007;30:1972-1978.
Is this an outlier study?
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/562842
Thanks,
Bob
+++If it raises levels of both T and LH +++
Isn't that the MOA? Stimulate LH production which stimulates T production.
I am not sure the degree to which T and glucose levels are connected. The limited googling I've done has come up with less than clear answers.
Perhaps dewophile or rfj can shed light.
Regards,
Bob
OT- Kinda - From Crain's
Harvard M.B.A.s indicate market top
Aaron Elstein
A record 40% of Harvard's latest crop of M.B.A.s went to work on Wall Street this year. That's a glaringly clear signal to sell stocks, according to Ray Soifer, a Harvard alumnus and former brokerage industry analyst who gathered the data and came up with the off-beat idea of using the numbers as a barometer of market trends.
Mr. Soifer advises investors to sell stocks any time that more than 30% of graduates from Harvard Business School choose to work for brokerage firms, private equity shops, or hedge funds. The thinking holds that if so many bright young people choose to do such mind-numbing tasks as crunching numbers, preparing Power Point presentations, or pricing collateralized debt obligations, that's a sure sign of a market top. Conversely, any time fewer than 10% take jobs on Wall Street that's a signal to buy stocks.
Mr. Soifer, a former analyst at Brown Brothers Harriman who got his Harvard M.B.A. in 1965, readily admits that his indicator is imperfect. In fact, 2007 represents the third straight year that more than 30% of Harvard M.B.A.'s have gone to Wall Street, yet the market has posted excellent gains since 2003.
Still, the Harvard data proved prescient in predicting the end of the technology stock bubble. Fully 30% of the school's M.B.A's entered Wall Street in 2000, just as the bubble collapsed and a three-year bear market began.
"The signal will be accurate one of these days," predicts Mr. Soifer.
That seems to be the story with most similar indicators 8-)
With volume at this level it's futile to try for a read on what the investor community thinks. At best you can say that there is no conviction either way.
FWIW, I don't think that the popular press T articles will matter one way or another to the FDA with respect to Androxal. As quantumdot noted, the drug works by restoring T to within normal metabolic parameters.
Regards,
Bob