Feuerstein's Biotech-Stock Mailbag

Originally posted on RealMoney.com at 7:10 a.m. EDT

The Biotech Mailbag is once again open for business after a two-week tour of Rome and Tuscany. And what an incredibly fabulous tour it was! Why am I not living in a small, Tuscan hill town, drinking copious amounts of really good red wine? My dream life ... sigh.

One scheduling note: The weeky Mailbag has moved permanently to Friday from Saturday.

Onward, to your emails.

---

Jackson S. gets us started:

"The failure of Favrille's (FVRL Quote) non-Hodgkin's lymphoma vaccine trial this week, coupled with the previous blowup of Genitope (GTOP Quote) and its similar NHL vaccine, seems like great news for Accentia Biopharmaceuticals (ABPI Quote) because its NHL vaccine is the only one left standing. Should I be adding to my Accentia position now?"

Egads, man! Have you gone stark-raving mad? The blowups of Favrille and Genitope should be telling you to run away as quickly as possible from any company pitching a cancer vaccine directed at non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

This stuff doesn't work, and there is no reason whatsoever to believe that Accentia, with its BiovaxID vaccine, has somehow cracked the mystery. And yes, I know the company last month announced that a data-monitoring board made some recommendations about unblinding the phase III trial and showing BiovaxID data to regulators, etc. etc., but c'mon, you know this story ends badly, don't you? Please tell me you do.

---

Alex S. asks for an update on the auction process for MiddleBrook Pharmaceuticals (MBRK Quote):

"I was hoping you could give me some quick input with regards to MiddleBrook Pharmaceuticals. They have been for sale a long time and only recently hired Morgan Stanley to assist in an ongoing strategic review. I understand these things take time, but how much longer do you think this could take? They have enough cash on hand to fund operations through 2008 so their cash position should not be an issue."

My sources tell me that the bidding process for MiddleBrook is on track, with multiple bids submitted in the first round. A second and final round of bids is expected by mid to late June, so hopefully, a deal gets announced soon.

When I first wrote about MiddleBrook putting itself up for sale back in January, I predicted the company could go for $6 to $8 a share. From what I hear, that's still in the ballpark.