Replies to post #115323 on Biotech Values

[JJM760]

GNVC should be a case study on the first page of the biotech trader's handbook.

I forget the name of the drug, but the study was in pancreatic cancer. Seemed like it was going well then one night, WHAAMO!! total failure and the drug was being yanked. That was horrible.

I remember watching the videos on you tube and seeing those poor people who were looking to get it for compassionate use. Puts our loss in perspective. I think it's important to remind myself that these drugs mean a lot more to some than just a big shot in a brokerage account.

[HattieTheWitch]

...if it's going .PK...

What is PK? Thank you.

[Jonathan Robinson]

GNVC

I got lucky - was asked by my dad's estate to clean up a biotech portfolio of three stocks worth low, low, low 6 figures which had only 3 names, none of which I really knew very well, and of what I did know, I only liked one, somewhat.

I got good advice from contacts (including rkrw - thanks rkrw) and began to slowly ease the stocks out as they were all running (this was late 2009). I began to think I was an idiot because I had sold half of each of the main two components of the portfolio and the stocks had doubled (GNVC and EMIS) and I did not like either. Anyway I blew out of the rest of GNVC and then it went up another 10% or so before collapsing. EMIS - not so lucky as I got caught with a tag-end of 10-15% of the shares when they finally collapsed. For awhile it looked stupid, but it turned out pretty well measured by avg realizations vs. his cost basis and the price at time of beginning to liquidate. The portfolio more than doubled. No one would have questioned me if I had just blown them out but so much better the way it turned out. You have to take what the markets give which is what some of these perma-bears just don't get.

Jon