Saturday, July 16, 2005 High hopes When Lytle and his colleagues think of role models, they point to Genentech Inc. in South San Francisco, whose pioneering anti-cancer drug Avastin has posted sales of $640 million since its approval early last year."You want to model yourself on the people who have been successful," says Steven King, Peregrine's chief executive officer. If the early belief in Tarvacin is borne out, he sees no reason Peregrine couldn't be catapulted from money-losing research mode into the pharmaceutical big leagues.
But clearly, Tarvacin is the 800 pound gorilla in Peregrine's board room these days. And while company executives soak in the headiness of a potentially revolutionary new discovery, the scientists are whispering in their ears a mix of excitement, caution and good old-fashion scientific curiosity. [b/]