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Pain. 2008 Aug 22. [Epub ahead of print] Profound reduction of somatic and visceral pain in mice by intrathecal administration of the anti-migraine drug, sumatriptan. Nikai T, Basbaum AI, Ahn AH. Department of Anatomy, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA; Department of Anesthesiology, Shimane University, Izumo, Japan. Sumatriptan and the other triptan drugs ...

Li, I'm not familiar with phase llb dosing trials for other drugs. I don't remember seeing any with Rituxan, and it is used off label a lot. I do recall that a few years ago the FDA said companies could tell doctors about preliminary data in trials they had going with drugs that were approved for other indications. They couldn't "sell" the drug to them for other indications, but the ...

>>The same would be true for any of the other 80+ indications you believe are in the wings. In order to get a label for any of them, UCB would have to do an appropriate Phase I/II or Phase II trial specific to that disease.<< For the sake of efficiency, one may want to first find the most expeditious and least costly path to an FDA approval for "something". Getting a label for multiple ...

I don't know what the figures are, but I'd guess any pref holdings are a very small fraction of the bond holdings.

> I fail to see the logic that UCB should be investigating other indications when > the reason for the phase llb trials are to look at different doses in order > to assess what dose level works best in down regulating run away B cells. When a drug is used to treat multiple diseases, it's often the case that the dose and/or dosing schedule is different for each. I mean, golly -- that's ...

Has the People's Bank of China been a large buyer of the pfd's in addition to the GSE debt? If yes, that may play into any decision whether to protect the pfd holders. Jon probably knows the answer to that one.

Proof of concept ? http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.137 1%2Fjournal.pone.0003148;jsessionid=65C86E1F7DBC05 ... Circulating nucleic acids (CNAs) offer unique opportunities for early diagnosis of clinical conditions. Here we show that microRNAs, a family of small non-coding regulatory RNAs involved in human development and pathology, are present in bodily fluids and represent ...

It will be interesting to see how this plays out. I like the Bloomberg middle way. A sensible solution might be to wipe out the common stock entirely, impose a fairly severe haircut on the preferred (with an eye on how this would impact other banks' solvency), and a low single digit haircut for bondholders (which would save the taxpayer from having to finance the whole mess). There is ...

<<4388 idahoranch1: [Sarcastic comeback]>> Hey, I didn't write 4388. << Interest, schminterest -- they've investigated no new indications since they bought the e-mab rights 2 1/2 years ago (!!!), including Sjögren's, which had at the time some momentum in clinical trials.>> I fail to see the logic that UCB should be investigating other indications when the reason for the phase llb ...

The operative sentence from the Times is: "Under a conservatorship, the common and preferred shares of Fannie and Freddie would be reduced to little or nothing, and any losses on mortgages they own or guarantee could be paid by taxpayers." Bloomberg is in the middle: "Analysts have speculated that the Treasury would wipe out common shareholders, while seeking to shield preferred ...

Gee Li, I guess the meaningless $40 myn the company received must be a negative as it limits them to only three more years of cash. And it definitely weakens their negotiating position, since they won't need operating capital for such an extended period. We all were hoping the illustrious Dr. G would be forced to cut an oncology deal, because he was running out of money and needed to do...

Hey, NY ... I've been meaning to ask ... "The $40 myn cash infusion from Nycomed obviously places Dr. G in a much stronger position regarding his remaining pipeline, and forces his potential partners to reconsider their options." (Message 4314) I'm still trying to figure out how the company's "stronger position" requires potential partners to "reconsider their options." Why does a ...

<<All the projects that get the ax will be well supported until they're not.>> That is quite a revelation : ) Is that kind of like "Trial sites will continue to be added until there not"? Since UCB has multi-center, double blind, placebo controlled data in their hands, and they are building up the number of trial sites well into the phase llb dosing trial, I'm going to assume that is ...

Idaho, How can you assume that UCB is even moderately interested in Emab for autoimmune diseases? It is so obvious that with only 39 sites up and running that the addition of more sites is slowing down and will soon be "not supported". Anyone can deduce from their statement that UCB is looking for a way to rid themselves of Emab, and concentrate on Cimzia, etc. for their future growth....

>> All the projects that get the ax will be well supported until they're not. > That is quite a revelation : ) Thank you -- it was meant to be a funny homage to Yogi Berra. I don't know if they are going to can e-mab or not -- and since it's a three-year transition plan, they may not know yet themselves. But my point remains that whatever it is that gets the heave-ho will -- up to that...

> It would seem to be a good omen that... No, it doesn't work that way. UCB is downsizing by about 20% over the next three years. And since they have new things to start, the existing research portfolio can be cut by over 20%. All the projects that get the ax will be well supported until they're not. All part of the game.

IJ, You also really need to see if the deciles are static or dynamic over time and my understanding is that generally they are extremely dynamic. Jon

How do we know this? Jon

Taking Aim at Brain Cancer (cancer-vaccine article from Forbes): http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx ?message_id=31811097

>>Only true up to a point, and only truly accurate for those at the top of the pile. Certainly not an argument against a modicum of progressive taxation. My point was about learning to live within ones means and how our expectations have changed over time as productivity drove up our relative wealth. There recent dip in income only serves to highlight what we already know empirically - ...