Sector Spotlight: 'Blue-Sky' Biotechs Fighting to Fight Cancer

Possibly the last thing a cancer patient wants is to save a tumor. But that's what Avax Technologies (AVXT Quote) is urging patients to do.

Avax is betting that tumors can be a valuable source of material for new cancer vaccines -- and betting its novel banking initiative will be a healthy source of revenue. The Kansas City biotech company claims to be the first to offer tumor cell banking for cancer vaccines, a highly experimental field in cancer treatment now dominated by chemotherapy, radiation, surgery and other traditional means.

The Avax tumor bank initiative comes amid a resurgence of interest in so-called immunotherapeutics to treat cancer, a field that's witnessed major setbacks but also significant advances. But experts say much remains to be proven even as current cancer treatment leaves much room for improvement.

So far, however, investors have mostly shied away from the dozen or so cancer vaccine companies including Avax, Progenics (PGNX Quote), Genzyme Molecular Oncology (GZMO Quote), Antigenics (AGEN Quote), Corixa (CRXA Quote), Dendreon (DNDN Quote) and others, causing shares in those vaccine makers to slide amid a surge in other kinds of biotechs. The companies missed the recent strong showing in biotech stocks, which have been the Nasdaq's top performers for much of the year.

Blue Skies?

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