RICHMOND, Va., Nov. 20, 2001 (PRIMEZONE) -- Announcements of cancer breakthroughs are closely followed by the investment community because of the prospects of price appreciation in shares of companies leading the fight.
On Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2001, ten different companies, including Aastrom Biosciences (Nasdaq:ASTM), Onyx Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq:ONXX) and Cell Therapeutics (Nasdaq:CTIC) will be presenting their strategies and prospects during the 5th annual Cancer Stocks Forum sponsored by Informed Investors. This virtual Forum is accessible over the Internet via www.informedinvestors.com from 8:30 a.m. EST to 3:45 p.m. There is no cost to investors. It will also be archived on www.vcall.com and www.investorconference.com.
Keynoting the Forum will be Alan Auerbach, Vice President/Research Analyst at Wells Fargo Van Kasper. Auerbach, a veteran analyst in the biotechnology and biomedical sectors, will overview the latest developments among cancer companies.
Aastrom Biosciences, based in Ann Arbor, Mich., is positioned as a leader in the development of proprietary cell therapeutic products using novel dual-platform technologies. It will discuss, among other developments, its new Dendricell(tm) products for use in dendritic cell vaccines for the treatment of cancer.
Aastrom recently announced that it has obtained approval to affix the CE Mark to the DC-I Cell Therapy Kit for the ex vivo production of human dendritic cells, allowing Aastrom to market and sell the product in Europe.
Onyx Pharmaceuticals of Richmond, Calif. is engaged in the discovery and development of novel cancer therapies. Based on its proprietary virus technologies, Onyx is developing its lead product, ONYX-015, which is currently in a Phase III clinical trial for head and neck cancer, and in Phase I and II clinical trials for a number of additional cancer indications.
Based in Seattle, Cell Therapeutics, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company committed to developing oncology products aimed at making cancer more treatable. The Company's commercial product, TRISENOX(tm) (arsenic trioxide) has received marketing approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat patients with relapsed or refractory acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL), a life-threatening cancer of the blood. TRISENOX is currently being investigated in phase I and II clinical trials for a variety of other cancers.
Additionally, CTI is currently developing two applications of its polyglutamate (PG) technology, PG-TXL and PG-CPT, which link the PG polymer to leading cancer drugs. PG-TXL is currently in clinical trials in the United States and the United Kingdom for a number of indications and PG-CPT has completed preclinical trials.
Other companies presenting at the Forum include: AEterna Labs, Biomira, Inc., Dendreon Corp., Genentech, Genzyme Molecular Oncology, Sonus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Targeted Genetics.
During the Forum, executives of participating companies review current prospects and strategies as they do for institutional investors at conferences typically closed to individual investors. Each company presents for approximately 30 minutes with PowerPoint presentations. Investors are invited to email questions to executives.
Informed Investors is the leading producer of online and offline industry-specific investment conferences for individual investors and a member of the World Investor Link family of companies serving investors.
About World Investor Link: Since 1992, World Investor Link (www.worldinvestorlink.com) has opened information channels from public companies to potential investors. This year World Investor Link will make more than 5 million investor introductions to over 4,600 corporate clients world wide through services including The Annual Reports Service, The Fund Info Service, Vcall, Investor Conference and Informed Investors Forums. World Investor Links' array of products and services enables companies to comply with regulation fair-disclosure requirements by providing investors free access to onsite and Webcast investor events and company financial reports. Mutual funds and companies get visibility with investors at the point investors are making decisions through World Investor Link's relationships with over 160 of the leading financial media channels including The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Barron's and Yahoo!Finance. World Investor Link, Inc. a wholly owned subsidiary of WILink.com plc (WLK on The London Stock Exchange) began operations in Richmond, Va., in 1993.