Biotech Optimists Throw In the Towel

• Report this Comment On February 12, 2011, at 10:42 AM, Sum111 wrote:

  For those looking for quick returns Bio tech stocks are probably not for you. Pharma products take years to develop and do nothing but loose money until/if they come to market. But that being said they are the cutting edge technology in health care and as long as there are people with health needs, there will be Bio tech companies looking to improve/create drugs to meet those needs.

  I like Bio tech as they not only contribute to real quality of life for people, when successful their products tend to be very profitable. I have found though they require far more due diligence both before investing in them and a greater commitment to hold onto them once the decision is made to purchase them. In other words a greater tolerance for risk and patience as well as the commitment to research both the fundamentals of the company and its product is required.

• Report this Comment On February 14, 2011, at 10:09 AM, Blindnomore wrote:

  Unfortuneately for anyone who decides to invest in biotechs there is a small (actually it's an all incompassing, pervasive) problem with the entire sector dealing with health. That problem is the FDA. That agency is totally and completely a bribe factory. It has almost zero worth for the country anymore. The entire agency is so large and so vast and such an encroachment on anything in the health industry, the costs associated with doing anything with the health industry are beyond out of control or anything resembling reasonable. The regulations they pass and enforce are more for the benefit of selected individuals and companies because of the amount of personal gain someone in the FDA will receive from those individuals and companies rather than what gain will befall the population of this country as well as the rest of the world. It is a huge government agency rife with corruption and greed on a scale that puts all of politics to shame. It is rather unrealistic to think that Forex Labs or Mylan were able to get quick fixes for their respective problems they had approving their drugs or devices. Those quick fixes do not occur ever unless there is a lot of grease thrown at the right wheel. No amount of public anger or display of such by any group has any effect. This was proven both with DNDN and with Arena's drug candidates. DNDN did so and got approval not due to any real or newly discovered information or due to information being distorted by reviewers but because the wheel was greased thata wanted it. Arna on the other hand has a greasy wheel that is biased against Arna and biased for one of its competitors. This leaves Arna and others with no real chance of surviving. Biotech and the health sector in general are a bad place to do DD. It is meaningless that gives no fair results.

• Report this Comment On February 17, 2011, at 7:31 AM, TruffelPig wrote:

  FDA has, if anything, approved too many drugs. The problem of most drug companies is that their drugs are simply not good. This in particular includes Biotech start-ups. I observe that for years and one should only buy into companies that at least have a very very successful Phase II trial where the success reads like: "The FDA shifted all patients onto the new drug after n weeks because the FDA felt it was unethical to not supply the drug". There are companies like that out there. And then there are those "normal" companies with drugs that work but are not overwhelming - they will not make it in the extremely competitive drug industry.

Add your comment.