Feuerstein's Biotech-Stock Mailbag

More patients could help the study succeed, although it might also delay the release of data. As it stands, it's my belief that Dendreon will have a very tough time showing a statistically significant survival benefit in favor of Provenge at the interim analysis. This is a risk that's not recognized by many retail investors who are obsessed with this cult stock, in my opinion.

An institutional investor who met with Dendreon CEO Mitch Gold recently tells me that he asked about increasing the size of the IMPACT study, but Gold said it wasn't in the company's plans.

Dendreon, of course, has become the zaniest cult stock in biotech -- I think it might even be crazier than Elan (ELN Quote) these days -- so the drama will continue well into next year, when IMPACT data should be available.

My son, Graeme, turned 7 years old today. Happy birthday, little skate dude! I love you.

Please note that due to factors including low market capitalization and/or insufficient public float, we consider Novacea and Spectrum Pharmaceuticals to be small-cap stocks. You should be aware that such stocks are subject to more risk than stocks of larger companies, including greater volatility, lower liquidity and less publicly available information, and that postings such as this one can have an effect on their stock prices.