Replies to post #89663 on Biotech Values

[mcbio]

Re: ACHN conference call PR

Was there something in the press release that justifies the apparent rush of optimism that immediately followed its issuance?

Not really. ACHN previously disclosed on 12/15/09 at the time of release of the initial Phase 1b results of ACH-1625 that they would host a conference call in January 2010 to discuss the results and other progress of the company. See towards the end of: #msg-44560695 .

So, this call should come as no surprise. Perhaps someone thinks that a partnership for ACH-1625 or the non-HCV assets will be disclosed at the time of the call. However, I view this as unlikely inasmuch as, again, this call was pre-planned over a month ago and, anyways, companies that have entered into a partnership generally don't wait a week to disclose it at the time of a special conference call. They do it at the end of the day or the next day. So, I don't expect any partnership to be announced. What I do hope ACHN will say is that the cash raise has strengthened their position in negotiations to partner ACH-1625. Hopefully they will also make it more clear whether they intend to find a partner for ACH-1625 instead of initiating Phase 2 trials on their own. If there is some chatter on partnering the non-HCV assets, that would be nice as well, but neither of these compounds are likely to bring big biobucks in a deal. As Dew indicated, if ACHN discloses that they are going to spend more of their own money on the non-HCV assets, that would be a bearish sign.