Dendreon Corp fka DNDNQ

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"The Burrill Mid-Cap Biotech Index continued where it left off in 2006, rising 4% in Q1 07. Most of the jump was recorded in March thanks to Dendreon which soared 179% in March, 210% for the quarter after the FDA recommended approval for its prostate cancer vaccine, Provenge. Studies found that Provenge did not slow progress of the disease, but it could extend patients' lives by 4.5 months by stimulating their immune systems to fight the disease. A final FDA decision on Provenge, also called sipuleucel-T, is expected May."

http://www.genengnews.com/news/bnitem.aspx?name=15150739

"G. Steven Burrill has been involved in the growth and prosperity of the biotechnology industry for over 40 years. An early pioneer, Mr. Burrill is one of the original architects of the industry and one of its most avid and sustained developers. He currently serves as Chairman of the Boards of Pharmasset, and is a member of the Boards of Directors of Catalyst Biosciences, DepoMed (Amex: DMI), Targacept (NASDAQ: TRGT), Proventys and Phytomedics. Prior to founding Burrill & Company in 1994, he spent 28 years with Ernst & Young, directing and coordinating the firm's services to clients in the biotechnology/life sciences/high technology/manufacturing industries worldwide. In 2002, Mr. Burrill was recognized as the biotech investment visionary by the prestigious Scientific American magazine (The Scientific American 50). Mr. Burrill is a founder of the Foundation for the National Medals of Science and Technology and currently serves on its Board of Directors. Some of his not for profit activities include serving on the Boards of Directors for the Bay Area Science Infrastructure Consortium, BayBio, the California Healthcare Institute, the Exploratorium, The Kellogg Center for Biotechnology, Research!America, Campaign for Medical Research, The National Health Museum, and the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Foundation. He is also the Chairman of the Mayor’s Biotech Advisory Committee (MAYBAC)."

http://www.burrillandco.com/bio/team_bios

"In 1994, G. Steven Burrill founded Burrill & Company as a logical extension of his 35+ year involvement in the growth and prosperity of the biotechnology industry. Mr. Burrill has been an active advisor and catalyst in some of the industry's most notable companies and transactions. Mr. Burrill's close involvement and respected position within the industry has positioned the firm as a prominent deal-maker and facilitator of industry partnerships and alliances, all of which fosters a robust deal flow. Further contributing to this deal flow are: the scientific and business networks of its investment team; the Advisory Boards; the strategic and financial network of its limited partners; and the close relationships developed with numerous life science companies and management as a result of Burrill's visibility, reputation, and the firm's partnering and alliance work.

Having created a strong organization of respected professionals from the life science industry worldwide, Burrill & Company stands in the mainstream of life science deal flow and its visibility in the industry is unrivaled."

http://www.burrillandco.com/burrill/history

sounds like these guys know a good speculative biotech when they see one. i wonder too, whether they may have gotten an inkling about a possible partnership deal at the JP Morgan (aka H&Q) healthcare conference in San Fran back in Jan/07?

here is a link to an earlier article from the same source...

Late-Stage Cancer Vaccines Set to Launch With Five Major Players
Therapeutic Vaccines Could Transform Medical Care

Rod Raynovich

"Over the past few years, there has been a surge of interest in vaccines. Market growth rates are forecasted at 20% per year over the next five years with the introduction of HPV, influenza, rotavirus, shingles, and meningitis products. R&D investment is growing with the NIH funding a number of bioterrorism projects and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation backing a range of vaccines. The worldwide prophylactic vaccine market is expected to reach $15 billion in 2010, up from $10 billion in 2005.

Active immunotherapy, however, has proven to be a difficult development area, with a significant number of clinical failures, primarily for melanoma and pancreatic cancers. But, 2007 could be a pivotal year, bringing new technologies and positive clinical developments for therapeutic cancer vaccine products.

New technologies include DNA and cellular delivery, TLR receptor agonists, and adjuvants. A recent report published by Kalorama Information, “The Emerging Cancer Vaccine Market”, (see BioMarket Trends in the January 15, 2007, issue of GEN) forecasts a $700-million market by 2008 and $8.4 billion by 2012, initially driven by Merck’s (www.merck.com) Gardisil. Highlighted here are five well-funded public companies with proprietary technology and late-stage trials utilizing active immunotherapy along with combination therapy to complement antibody treatment and chemotherapy.

Dendreon’s (www.dendreon.com) method is to use a selected cancer–related target protein to stimulate a patient’s own dendritic cells, which are then reinfused into the patient to stimulate an immune response.

The company’s primary candidate, Provenge (sipuleucel-T), is an active cellular immunotherapy for the treatment of metastatic androgen-independent prostate cancer. It recently completed Phase III trials. The FDA assigned priority review status to the company’s BLA, which is expected by May 15, 2007, but may be as early as March 29. The BLA submission is based primarily on an improvement in overall survival, reported in the July issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Dendreon also completed a Phase I evaluation of Neuvenge, an investigative active cellular immunotherapy for the treatment of breast, ovarian, and colon cancers. Phase II should be initiated in 2007.

It has collaborative agreements with Genentech (www.gene.com) for the development of products derived from trp-p8, an ion channel found in prostate cancer cells, and Abgenix/Amgen (www.amgen.com) for the development of Mabs against membrane-bound serine protease, which is implicated in solid tumors.

JMP Securities and Needham have a buy rating on the stock."

http://www.genengnews.com/articles/chitem.aspx?aid=2019