Biotech Stock Mailbag: Poniard Predictions

Meantime, AMAG shares rebounded this week after the company reported third-quarter Feraheme sales of $2.9 million and deferred revenue of $11.5 million -- the former in line with reduced analyst expectations but the latter better than previously forecast.

AMAG is still struggling to find a welcome home for Feraheme in dialysis clinics, but the drug does seem to be gaining an early foothold in the chronic kidney disease (pre-dialysis) treatment area -- a less established but larger commercial opportunity.

I'm not making any excuses for making a bad call on AMAG after the Feraheme approval. Being bullish on the stock as it fell from the low $50s to the high $30s was a mistake. But AMAG's third-quarter report was encouraging and should have reset Feraheme expectations enough to help the stock move higher from here.

---

Sean N. writes, "You're still a short-loving jerk and I don't know why you feel the need to bash small biotechs all the time, but I have to admit that the Cel-Sci(CVM Quote) story about Byron Biopharma raises some uncomfortable questions. Why would the Cel-Sci guys just make up a company like that?"

Your question is a good one. Prior to publication, I asked Cel-Sci to provide contact information for Byron Biopharma and/or any evidence to prove that Byron was a real company and not just a phantom entity. Cel-Sci chose not to respond.

Not to sound too egotistical, but my story raises serious questions about the conduct of Cel-Sci management. Both publicly, and more important, in Securities and Exchange Commission filings, Cel-Sci has stated that it licensed South African rights to its cancer drug Multikine to a company known as Byron Biopharma. But if it is subsequently discovered that Byron doesn't exist or is a front for some other entity or individual, then Cel-Sci executives have a lot explaining to do.