Catching up with Dendreon

Published 9:00 pm Tuesday, May 15, 2007

I’ve been working on projects and taking days off here and there, so the blog has suffered, and I’ve missed out on some good biotech tidbits in the past couple of weeks.

In the region’s biotech community, the biggest story probably has been Dendreon’s meltdown after the FDA asked for more information on Provenge, the company’s prostate cancer treatment. Dendreon was hoping to get the drug approved; the FDA’s request could put off possible approval by three years or more.

When the news came out last Wednesday, May 9, the value of the company’s shares plunged by 64 percent. That erased a dramatic build-up in the stock price since March, when an FDA panel recommended approval.

Here’s the Associated Press news story from that day, http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070509/dendreon_mover.html?.v=1. Since then, Dendreon has indicated it may have to lay off employees to keep costs low while it toils toward approval for its drug.

This week, the more thoughtful analysis pieces on Dendreon’s future have been posted. Here’s one that makes the case for investing in Dendreon now, http://biotech.seekingalpha.com/article/35356. And here’s an interesting article from The Disciplined Investor that suggests a conflict of interest on the FDA panel may have helped to sink Provenge’s chances for approval, http://www.thedisciplinedinvestor.com/blog/2007/05/15/dndn-update2/.

Here’s more, http://www.247wallst.com/2007/05/dendreon_the_da.html, and more, http://www.upi.com/Health_Business/Analysis/2007/05/14/analysis_street_split_on_dendreon_vaccine/6429/, on where Dendreon and Provenge may be headed next.

http://biotech.seekingalpha.com/article/35356