Dangerous people, and the poison over at ihub

Bulletin Boards can be dangerous places. But you knew that, right?

Sure.  How about a BB which by some (pompous) accounts is where the serious, science based discussions on biotech stocks happen - like iHub? Well, even there, and in spite of the over eager, finger-on-delete board monitors, some pretty dangerous folks are lurking. Here are my top two.

Biotech Researcher, aka BR, enemy no. 1.
He has been posting for eternity, before the continents separated, and used to be a long.  Or so the legend goes. This longevity has given him a certain credibility which, for many, makes him trustworthy. And, well, that Dr. Strangelove photo is kinda charming, no?   Not so much. Trust is the first thing a scam artist will try to get from you...before he picks your pocket.

He has also mastered, in a chimp-like sort of way, the vocabulary of biotech. This helps with trust. But at the end of the day, and the beginning and the middle, he's pumping for Ariad's demise...cheer leading on every dip - down we go!!  Who knows why. Short position? Recruited by a hedge fund to sow doubt? Just an asshole?  It doesn't matter.  His posts are full of vitriol,  systematically manipulate fear, sow doubt, and are without merit.  He's dangerous, and he will gleefully mislead you to make foolish investment decisions.

2DaMoon, aka 2da.
This one is a different story. He bet big before the flash crash, lost even bigger, and is bitter bitter bitter. BITTER! He's angry with Harvey B, wants the board to resign, and his diatribes roll from his clakety old keyboard in a frothy, rabid stream of consciousness.  There's rage, intense rage, and much of it with good reason.  He trusted Ariad with his life savings (so the legend goes), and they betrayed his trust. But now he needs to get a clue, and a life.  His iHub poison have killed that board.

So, long or short, be safe.  There are dangerous people out there, and they are prowling for prey in the most unlikely places.  And there are also powerful voices, to which we should, your's truly included, who deserve more respect and attention.

GLTA.

TC

The God Molecule? Ariad Registers New Patent

On September 25th, "Patentscope" published information on an Ariad application (filed in March of this year) for  a new molecule which functions as a choline kinase inhibitor. Patent The over expression of Choline Kinase has been associated with at least five types of cancers, which are summarized below.  We look forward to hearing more from Ariad about this new molecule, and its potential for treating many, many patients battling a variety of cancers.   

Stay tuned. 

Source for Choline Kinase data

Entity	Breast carcinoma
Oncogenesis	Normal and tumoral tissues from patients with breast carcinomas were analysed for ChoKα activity and expression. ChoKα activity was increased in 38.5% of tumoral tissues, whereas ChoKα over-expression determined by WB analysis was found in 17% of the 53 samples analysed (Ramirez de Molina et al, 2002).
Entity	Ovarian carcinoma
Oncogenesis	Choline Kinase activity in human epithelial ovarian carcinoma cells (EOC) was 12- to 24-fold higher when compared with normal or immortalized ovary epithelial cells (EONT) (Iorio et al, 2005).
Entity	Lung cancer
Oncogenesis	ChoKα mRNA levels were increased in lung tumour cell lines in comparison with human primary bronchial epithelial cells (BEC). This increase was higher in small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) than in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Moreover, protein levels and ChoK enzymatic activity were also increased in tumour cells (Ramirez de Molina et al, 2007). When analysing tissues from patients with NSCLC, ChoKα over-expression was also observed with an incidence of 50%. Furthermore, patients with NSCLC with ChoKα over-expression had worse disease free and overall survival than those patients with normal levels of the enzyme (Ramirez de Molina et al, 2007).
Entity	Colorectal cancer
Oncogenesis	Both ChoKα activity and PCho levels were increased in colon cancer and adenocarcinoma tissues when compared with normal tissue. PCho levels in colon cancers were about 1.5 times higher than in normal colon tissue, whereas ChoK activity was 3.7 times higher in tumoral tissues with respect to normal ones (Nakagami et al, 1999).
Entity	Prostate cancer
Oncogenesis	Increased ChoKα was found in 48% tumoral prostate tissues when compared with their normal counterparts (Ramirez de Molina et al, 2002).

Japan

When?

Novartis ready to crash and burn, Pona trials wrapping up, and...all that healthy fish our brethren in the Rising Sun eat keeps vascular AEs to a minimum.

So, be a short. Make my day.

TC