Biotech Notebook: Medarex, Panacos, Advanced Life

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I've had a soft spot in my heart for Panacos Pharmaceuticals(PANC Quote), hoping that the company could finally figure out how to develop its HIV/AIDS drug beviramat.

Sadly, Panacos provided an update on beviramat Monday night that was anything but hopeful. It seems as if patients given a 350 mg dose of beviramat didn't respond as well as patients given a lower 300 mg dose. The company can't explain why a higher dose of beviramat didn't prove to be more effective, as expected.

The company suspects that there might be a subpopulation of HIV patients who respond (or don't respond) to beviramat, but so far, it doesn't have a way of identifying those patients.

The news sent Panacos shares tumbling more than 50% Tuesday.

I've been on the sideline with Panacos because I wanted to see evidence of beviramat progress. Monday's news, however, seems like a big step backward.

I don't see how this company digs out of the mess. It's not likely to find a partner, and that means it will need to raise more money next year. And with the stock in the gutter, that's either going to be difficult or highly dilutive.

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Speaking of drug companies seeking cash, Advanced Life Sciences(ADLS Quote) took care of its pressing financial needs Tuesday by raising $20 million through a private placement of 10 million shares and warrants. The stock sold was priced at $1.90 a share.

Hopefully, this cash will help Advanced Life Sciences move to the next step of finding a partner for its antibiotic cethromycin.

Advanced Life Sciences was down 7.9% in Tuesday trading.

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Lastly, check out this two-part series from the Cleveland Plain Dealer on the FDA's Fast-Track program and how drug and biotech companies mislead investors into thinking it's more important than it really is. I'm quoted in part one of the series.

The articles go into a lot of good detail and explanation, more so than when I wrote about the Fast Track finagling back in 2003.