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SAN FRANCISCO March 18 — The stock price of struggling Geron Corp. skyrocketed Tuesday after the company said its experimental cancer vaccine showed promise in fighting all types of the disease. It was a shot in the arm for the money-losing biotechnology company, which has laid off much of its staff in the past year and its stock has recently languished below $2 a share. Geron`s stock soared $2.47 a share, more than doubling to close at $4.20 on the Nasdaq Stock Market. Nearly 18 million Geron shares traded hands Tuesday up from about 113,000 shares on an average trading day. Though investors cheered Geron`s cancer research, which was published in the current issue of the scientific journal Cancer Gene Therapy, wary analysts pointed out that the vaccine involved laboratory experiments and is several years from regulatory approval. "I`m extremely uncomfortable with these type of announcements," said John McCamant, editor of Medical Technology Stock Letter. McCamant said Geron scientists and others have been working on similar research for several years and that its payoff is far off if it ever comes. The technology behind the vaccine is not related to Geron`s human embryonic stem cell research, work that has been slowed by conservative lawmakers and abortion foes who oppose it as immoral. Instead, the vaccine is a human cell genetically engineered to produce a telltale protein called telomerase common to most cancers. The cell is designed to provoke immune responses that let humans naturally fight cancer infections. The genetically engineered vaccine helped kill three types of cancer cells including melanoma and colon cancer in the laboratory, according to the journal paper. "These findings show that telomerase vaccination can be used in all cancer patients," the company said Tuesday. The company is conducting experiments at Duke University Medical Center with the vaccine on colon cancer patients to determine whether the treatment is safe. "This company was founded on telomerase," said chief financial officer David Greenwood. "We`ve been working in telomerase a lot longer than we have on stem cells." Geron is working on several different techniques to deliver the vaccine to the body, including the use of gene therapy. Gene therapy uses viruses stripped of their virulence and adds engineered genes to fight disease. Gene therapy is a promising but troubled technology. The therapy cured nine babies afflicted with "bubble boy disease," French researchers announced last year. But two of the children have come down with leukemia thought to be caused by gene therapy, prompting regulators to halt 27 human experiments in the United States. |
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| aus der Diskussion: | Geron - Allheilmittel gegen Krebs |
| Autor (Datum des Eintrages): | meislo (20.03.03 18:27:56) |
| Beitrag: | 7 von 9 (ID:8942577) |
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