All in all, 2009 has been a rough year, what with shaky economic news, plus a health scare in the form of the H1N1 virus. Thus, any ray of favorable news is welcome, news that men the world over can agree on. The day after Labor Day provided glad tidings in that progress appeared to have been made in the fight against prostate cancer, with the announcement that New York-based GENova Biotherapeutics (OTC:BB: GVBP) had filed a patent for a novel peptide to disrupt the path of the deadly disease. Prostaganin, as it is called, thus acquired what the company thinks is blockbuster potential as a revolutionary anti-cancer drug.
The treatment, basically a link of 21 amino acids, is bio-engineered from natural components in the human body, but is highly reactive to prostate cancer cells and can specifically target them. Prostaganin is also able to bind to and disrupt negatively-charged components of the membranes of prostate cancer cells, while leaving cells intact, thus ducking the side effects of other cancer treatments such as radiation, surgery and chemotherapy. With prostate cancer occurring in 30% of all male cancer patients, and a spread in the disease expected in the United States in just the next few years, the demand for more effective and safer treatments has never been higher.
Located on First Avenue in Manhattan, GENova is positioning itself as the world's leading bioscience company in the development and commercial licensing of novel therapeutic proteins that disrupt the advance of life-threatening cancers. The company leverages cutting-edge research collaborations to achieve breakthroughs in anti-cancer treatments, and then licenses these patented drug product candidates to Big Pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. Its leadership position in the development of new therapies based on stem cell research should place it uppermost on the radar screens of pharmaceutical industry watchers and small cap investors alike. A conservative estimate places the potential market value of stem cells at over $150 billion by late next decade.
Meantime, gross profit for the quarter ending June 30 showed up around $25,000, half the prior-year’s figure, with an operating loss of $11,000, compared to the $4,000 in the quarter ending in June 2008. All the more reason Tuesday’s patent announcement provided such a surge of oxygen.
Stock prices are still on the cheap side. The stock peaked in July for the past 52 weeks around 25 cents, as opposed to about a quarter of a cent at its gulch last October, just as the world was wrapping its collective mind around the thought of another recession. The announcement on September 8, sent the price surging about 25% to a reading of 15.3 cents, still at a low enough point to entice wary investors.
Disclosure: The author, Peter Szafranski, has not been compensated nor does he hold a position in the above mentioned company.
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