Feuerstein's Biotech Mailbag

Welcome to the "biotech mailbag." I get a lot of great reader email and feedback -- keep the email coming -- which I try hard to answer directly. But often, there are questions asked or issues raised that could benefit a wider audience.

So consider this weekly column a chance to ask me questions about biotech or take me to task for something I wrote. I'll pick the best of the mail and address it here. Now, off to the mailbag.

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No dilly-dallying, let's get right to it.

I received two letters asking about Lexicon Genetics(LEXG) this week. I'll quote one, because both asked essentially the same question. Reader T.H. writes: "I picked up LEXG's volume gap-up move scanning charts and am considering buy and hold. It's a local company (to me), and I understand they're 'righting the ship.' Do you have any insight or warnings on LEXG before I plunk down some investment dollars?"

Lexicon Genetics is the latest "genomics" company to go under the knife on Extreme Makeover: The Biotech Edition. On Monday, the old name was dumped in favor of something fresh: Lexicon Pharmaceuticals. And the business model was given a shot of Botox -- no longer will Lexicon scour the human genome in the search of drug targets; instead, the company will actually try to develop drugs. This new business model was even given a sexed-up name, the 10to10 Program, for its goal of pushing 10 new drugs into human clinical trials by 2010.