What's up with Analyst down grade of SGEN

I read that an analyst had downgraded Seattle Genetics a month ago based on the size of the target market for SGEN's molecule for lymphoma.  From Seeking Alpha:

 

Seattle Genetics (SGEN) saw several changes after its stock price rose from $12 to around $16 over the last month. The cancer drug specialist was upgraded by Leerink Swann to Outperform and initiated at Outperform by Piper Jaffrey. But it was downgraded by JP Morgan to Neutral from Overweight and to Sell from Hold by Breann Muray. Canaccord Genuity initiated coverage with a sell rating and $10 target. Some analysts believe the prospects for the company’s B-Vedotin lymphoma drug currently in trials are already reflected in the stock price and that the market for the drug is not that large.

 I think the analyst are  missing the point as recent article on SGEN's clinical trial results states that the ADC technology will extend patent life on many of today's monoclonal antibodies in use today. In addition, this technology is a near term advancement and will not need long term investments to get a drug to market. I predict that the ADC technology, piggybacked on the advancement cancer biomarker bio-infomatics will help many patients with cancer in the near future. 

Seattle Genetics and Isis

I was just talking to a former colleague about Seattle Genetics. He thought that the technology is sound. Avastin is having a hard time finding multiple therapeutic indicators for the antibody to work. Some of the clinical trials have failed for non approved disease indications. Other biotech tech firms are having trouble finding success without major side effects. What Seattle Genetics has is a proprietary method of linking lethal molecules to targeted antibodies thus leading to targeted therapeutics. I think this could be a winner and may have some meaningful results in the short-term.

Isis stock has been in the doldrums for a while, hovering at less than $10 a share for a long period. I have always been intrigued by the technology, the first company to successfully use antisense as a therapeutic. Gene therapy has been stalled for years because of the lack of a safe delivery vector. Isis is poised to have real success the identification of microRNA's and siRNA's and by pass the need for human expression vectors. Isis must still overcome the short half life of RNA's in the body but I think the company is on the road to success

Healthcare Reform

Now that the 2010 Health care reform has pass, I hope that the lies that the opponents have been spreading will stop. I listened to a panel discussion on NPR and people still believe that death committees will be created to ration services. One panelist says he down loaded the bill to his Kindle and found that the cost would drive him out of business although he did not mention which part of would do that. Another panelist, mentioned that she like the bill except for the part that took away her current benefits. I think the public is being scared into believing these myths and find faults where none exists.

Has this country has lost its way where we only care about things that benefit us and we do not care for the greater good? Are we unwilling to pay for the goods and services that our government provides for us? Is our political landscape a result of "the me generation" maturing into old age? I am deeply saddened that people have come to view compromise as a weakness and not a virtue.

Onyx Pharmaceuticals positive writeup and discovery Strategies

Onyx had a positive write up in the San Francisco Business Times last month. Is this a growth company and a model for how a small pharmaceutical will survive in the market place?
Onyx has two major collaborations one with Pfizer and another with Bayer. The Bayer collaboration has resulted in the approval of Nexavar for the treatment of liver cancer in 2005 and kidney cancer in 2007. As with many FDA approved drugs, the strategy is to search new targets in multiple diseases. The question is what is the most efficient method to search out new targets: A shot gun approach to find a target disease testing in various cancers or using more targeted approach with bioinformatics with pathway analysis?

Onyx seems to be taking the later approach as indicated with its acquisition of two JAK 2 inhibitors. JAK 2 has been shown to be elevated in various cancers. This gives the potential to treat multiple patient populations. We are now in the early stages of personalized medicine and Onyx appears to be in position to hit multiple major pathways with its proteosome and cell cycle inhibitors.

Inaugural Blog

I would like to start the discussion by lamenting on the lack of venture capital money for biotechnology. I have been told by a number of sources that money is tight yet some firms seem to find money. Do the best ideas get funding or the best marketer?