Feuerstein's Biotech-Stock Mailbag

Stewart says that Elan insisted on listening to her consulting call live, and if not, she wouldn't be allowed to attend the company's analyst meeting. Stewart explained again that Piper rules forbade Elan from listening to her consulting call live. She also got angry, and asked Elan whether it was legal for the company to exclude her from attending a meeting where other analysts were invited.

Elan backed down and allowed Stewart to attend.

"The whole experience makes you wonder what they're trying to hide," she says, adding that she suspects her neutral rating on the stock had something to do with Elan's attitude. "They do some good science at Elan, but their behavior is bad."

More Elan meeting weirdness: No question-and-answer session? That's right, Elan didn't take any questions from the attendees after they wrapped up the presentations.

"The meeting was a total waste of time," says Stewart. "Why did Elan hold an investor and analyst meeting but then not allow any of us to ask questions?"

I've asked Elan to comment on why it seems like only "friends" were invited to its investor meeting. I haven't heard back. If and when I do, I'll let you know.

On a related note: Bob Ruffolo, head of drug research at Wyeth (WYE Quote - Cramer on WYE - Stock Picks), announced his retirement April 30. He is 58 and was at Wyeth for about eight years.

As the top R&D guy at Wyeth, Ruffolo, naturally, was responsible for Wyeth's work on bapineuzumab, which is being conducted jointly with Elan.

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