Biotech Values

[DewDiligence]

A surprising story of cancer survival:

[This story appears as a sidebar to the Pro-Pharmaceuticals expose in the printed edition of today’s Boston Globe.]

http://tinyurl.com/2qz8k

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By Jeffrey Krasner, Globe Staff, 3/14/2004

Last November, Pro-Pharmaceuticals Inc. told the story of a cancer survivor as a way to promote the potential benefits of its experimental drug. Nobody was more surprised to hear that story than the patient herself.

The company's New York public relations agency, Investor Relations Group, sent an e-mail to Boston-area reporters and editors with a headline that read, "Hope is Underway for those in your Local Community Fighting Cancer."

The message read like a short newspaper story, telling how a gynecologist in Florida, Melanie Bone, suffered terribly during chemotherapy treatment for breast cancer.

The story said chemotherapy wouldn't have such side effects when Pro's experimental drug, Davanat-1, is approved. Davanat-1, according to the story, improves the effectiveness of a chemotherapy drug on mice, leaving them with "minimal" nausea, hair loss, and fatigue.

But neither Pro's agency, nor the freelancer it hired to write the piece, told Dr. Bone her story would be used to promote Pro-Pharmaceuticals.

When the freelancer interviewed her for the story, Dr. Bone believed it was for a publication, not a press release promoting a company's research. Dr. Bone had never heard of Pro-Pharmaceuticals until contacted by a Globe reporter.

"I never had any clue that was what this was going to be used for," Dr. Bone said.

A month later, Pro issued a press release, again using Dr. Bone's story, to trumpet the progress of Davanat-1.

Dian Griesel, founder and president of Investor Relations Group, defended her efforts to generate publicity for Pro-Pharmaceuticals. "I don't think there's exploiting going on here," she said. Her company no longer represents Pro-Pharmaceuticals, she added.

Pro-Pharmaceuticals executives did not respond last week to questions regarding its public relations strategy.
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