Replies to post #1577 on Biotech Values

[DewDiligence]

More OXGN info from the Wells Fargo conference:

In the Q&A session, one of the analysts (it may have been the host from Wells Fargo) grilled OXGN’s CEO, Fred Driscoll, on the issue of CA4P’s cardiac toxicity. She asked whether cardiac toxicity was the reason Bristol-Myers pulled out of the CA4P collaboration with OXGN in 2001.

Driscoll said No, this was not the reason Bristol pulled out. However, the mere fact that this question about cardiac toxicity was asked shows that this notion continues to be prevalent on the Street.

[DewDiligence]

OXGN update:

I just confirmed with OXGN that CEO Fred Driscoll’s comment at the Lehman presentation on March 4 was not intended to convey plans for a new trial in AMD. Rather, Driscoll meant to say that a new trial will be started in myopic macular degeneration, as previously announced.

I continue to expect that OXGN will move toward emphasizing myopic macular degeneration, where most patients are relatively young, rather than AMD, where patients are old and frequently have heart problems. This is simply good business sense on OXGN’s part, and it is a tacit admission that CA4P is probably too toxic to be a big-selling drug in AMD.