Introgen's Data-Mining Misleads

Introgen is running two randomized and controlled phase III studies of Advexin in head and neck cancer, which should give us better data on the drug's efficacy and safety. But those studies were started in June 2000 and have yet to complete enrollment, which tells you: 1) there is little or no interest from cancer research centers for Advexin; and 2) the odds of success in these trials are slim.

I truly hope that Introgen does finally send Advexin to the FDA, something it's been promising to do, in one form or another, for two years. If and when that happens, the company will no longer be able to spin stories, delay and mislead. The drug's fate will be out of Introgen's hands and under the control of the FDA, where all this nonsense will end.

And for those with no interest in Introgen, there's still a biotech investment lesson here: When a company announces clinical trial results, make sure you know what the trial was originally designed to show, and be careful of any data or conclusions gleaned after the fact.

Shocked that a biotech company might try to mislead investors? Don't be.