Sembiosys, MDCO---seems like a desperate PR to me
After rereading the Sembiosys PR several times, it strikes me as unusual and perhaps it underscores some irony in SBS' apparent success.
The PR, IMO , comes off sounding like a weak attempt to draw attention to itself, with nothing new to say.
On first glance, the company at this point seems to have a lot going for its Apo-A1 program.
To summarize recent progress, this is from their website:
"SemBioSys has achieved commercial levels of Apo AI and Apo AIMilano accumulation in safflower and confirmed the identity of safflower Apo AIMilano through the use of mass spectrometry and protein sequencing. The function of safflower Apo AIMilano has been demonstrated through lipid clearance, cellular cholesterol efflux and whole-animal cholesterol mobilization assays. Taken together, these analyses indicate that safflower Apo AIMilano is physiologically and pharmaceutically comparable to microbially-produced Apo AI and Apo AI derived from human serum." Furthermore,the company has publicized several times that they already have stockpiled a large surplus ("more than 20 tonnes")of potent safflower.
So what's the problem and why is the stock down 90% over past 2 yrs? Despite their success at producing literally tons of commercial grade product, they don't have a route to market, they don't have a partner, and, now I gather, they don't own the intellectual property to develop apo A-1. So, it seems to me that the fate and the value of the company lies in the hands of MDCO. It could still be a home-run, but if they felt secure, I don't think they would be issuing a PR like that.
BTW, a call to IR led to a message that the offices will be closed from 12/24 to Jan 4.
Urche (former long)
