Biotech Values

[gofishmarko]

>> Were you the lone survey vote for Telaprevir? <<

No , I voted for Provenge. I don't recall all of the list , but I doubt if I would have ranked Telaprevir any higher than 4 or 5. Too much still in doubt there.

For me , Provenge has been the most fascinating biotech story in memory , though that may say more about my memory than anything else.

Provenge might not mean much from a " big picture " perspective , or it might be huge. If it turns out that Provenge is delayed for a few years but approved , and then subsequent fine-tuning and combos with other treatments result in dramatic advances in cancer therapy , this decision , in retrospect , will be earth-shaking , IMO. " FDA Roadblock Costs Lives ; Heads Roll ". If Provenge fails eventually , we'll wonder what all the fuss was about.

Even if Provenge is just one of many eventual therapeutic cancer vaccines , by being the first approved it would have represented a dramatic advance and would have given a big boost to the whole field. Since I believe biologics in general , and immune-based therapies in particular , are the only hopes for significant progress in tx. of advanced cancer , and since advances in this area will spill over into others , like autoimmune and infectious disease , any adverse effects of the FDA decision on funding in these areas could have profound consequences. Basically , I think Thornton had it exactly right. Time will tell , I suppose.

JMHO