Sorry I haven't been around, my man

I've been away on family business for the past week and I won't be done until after December 1st. Please don't ask me about any stocks, my man because I probably won't have anything useful to say about it. I really haven't been followin'.

Serve me baby

Vaccines on horizon for AIDS, Alzheimer's, herpes

MARIETTA, Pa. (AP) - Malaria. Tuberculosis. Alzheimer's disease. AIDS. Pandemic flu. Genital herpes. Urinary tract infections. Grass allergies. Traveler's diarrhea. You name it, the pharmaceutical industry is working on a vaccine to prevent it. Many could be on the market in five years or less. Contrast that with five years ago, when so many companies had abandoned the vaccine business that half the U.S. supply of flu shots was lost because of contamination at one of the two manufacturers left. Vaccines are no longer a sleepy, low-profit niche in a booming drug industry. Today, they're starting to give ailing pharmaceutical makers a shot in the arm.......Link to article

No Q3 yet from HTDS....

Been away all day on family business and just got home a short while ago. Didn't see what I had hoped to see. Where's the Q3??? But I'm sticking with HTDS. Today's news about the SFDA is nice but it will be better once we see it on the SFDA site. Stay tuned, my man.

I probably won't be posting much here for the next week or two. GLTA.

Let's hope that HTDS gives us the special treatment by Sunday night, my man

Some random stocks to look at, my man

This morning I was at the computer by 6 AM checking to see if the Q3 was out for HTDS and I was so focused on HTDS that I ignored CARDIO INFRARED TECH (PINK:CDOI) a stock that a spammer was posting about on some of the Google Finance boards. I took a brief look at it and I decided to look into it next week after HTDS was .25 cents a share (OK, if we're lucky it will be 0.05). I never heard of CDOI before but the damn thing did shot up 436.59% today and finished at 0.0220. The dumb thing is, I had plenty of money in my Zecco account to buy CDOI but I was keeping money in reserve for BIEL and HTDS.

Now the same spammer is saying CRITICAL SOLUTIONS (PINK:CSLI) is the "next CDOI" and is going up "500%" on Monday. Never heard of this company either and I'll check them out over the weekend.

I also came across a company called Vyteris Inc. that might be worth a look. Trading at 0.80

Class Action Lawsuit Against Hemispherx Biopharma, Inc.

Sad, my man:

The Complaint charges that defendants violated the federal securities laws. It is alleged in the Complaint that defendants misled investors regarding the status of Hemispherx's New Drug Application ("NDA") for its drug Ampligen with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA"). Specifically, defendants failed to disclose that the FDA had requested several reports from the Company before the NDA could even be considered, thus delaying the possible approval of Ampligen by several months at a minimum. Then, on November 2, 2009, when Hemispherx belatedly disclosed this information, the price of the Company's securities fell 20% to close at $1.13 on the next trading day, November 3, 2009. LINK

Monday...November 16, 2009 could be a very big money day, my man

BioElectronics Corp. announced that results from the recently completed acetaminophen comparison study will be released on Monday, November 16th after the close of the market. The study compares the effects of ActiPatch Therapy to acetaminophen in the form of Extra Strength Tylenol for the treatment of Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS).

HTDS will file the Q3 financials on Pink Sheets by the due date of November 15, 2009 (which is a Sunday).

We won't know what happens with the BIEL study until after the market and if it's positive we'll have reason to be happy on Monday night. Going into Monday, we'll have some cold, hard facts about HTDS. If they are making money, we are making money, my man. (Though technically speaking HTDS could release the info any time now before Sunday).

Investing in the Biotech Sector: Here’s An Easy Way to Profit from Biotech Stocks

Link to article

Hansen Medical: A Stock to Make Any Investor's Heart Happy

From Seeking Alpha:

"Hansen Medical (HNSN) is not for the fainthearted, but it can work in the speculative part of your portfolio. From $30 two years ago to less than $3 now, it qualifies as one of the recession's bargain-bin candidates. So far this year, it's down from $8. As far as the price goes, it's cheap among the cheap"....LINK

Hansen Medical currently trades at $3.24

Veteran's Day

Stocks To Buy blog, my man

Stocks to Buy A good site to check out, my man

FYI: Financial markets are open on Veterans Day, November 11

LINK

Another ECOtality (ETLY) update, my man

I've posted here before about ECOtality, Inc. (OTCBB: ETLY). The company develops electric vehicle charging infrastructure and unless you've been living in a cave, you know that we'll be seeing more electric vehicles in the coming years. There are only a few companies that do this and ETLY is a steal at 14 cents a share.

Related news:

11/04/09: ECOtality Signs Definitive Agreements for $15.5 Million Capital Raise...Transaction eliminates all $9.1 million of existing debt and provides capital to support ECOtality`s anticipated growth

11/03/09, USA Today: Energy Dept. awards money for electric cars

10/30/09: Nissan is a partner with Scottsdale-based Ecotality

10/26/09: Sufiy.: Mass market for EVs: Nissan races to inaugurate electric-car

HTDS, my man

Obviously some interesting news today. Keep an eye on HTDS tomorrow morning. It would be great to see it go above 0.02 and beyond tomorrow. Though I expect a lot of people will be selling off in the morning. But long-term, HTDS is a keeper.

Novartis to Acquire Majority Stake in Hard to Treat Diseases' (HTDS.PK) China Subsidiary H1N1 Vaccine Partner for US$125 Million

Couple of questions: Why didn't Novartis issue this press release and why is there no Novartis press contact on the release???

SHENZHEN, China, Nov. 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - Hard To Treat Diseases (HTDS.PK) www.htdsmedical.com, announced today that Novartis, a US$41 billion international healthcare company, is acquiring an 85% stake in HTDS' H1N1 Vaccine partner, Zhejiang Tianyuan Bio-Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., for US$125 million. Novartis of Switzerland will begin a five-year, $1 billion China initiative with two aims: the company will dramatically increase its investment in its China R&D facility, and it will seek to make China one its top three markets worldwide....LINK

Take a look at China Organic Agriculture, Inc. (CNOA), my man

My Man reccomends China Organic Agriculture for long-term gains. Currently trading at $1.06

Check out what Sumfolio says about CNOA. Very positive and I agree:

"In the end, China Organic represents a compelling value given its growth rates and low 2.22x trailing price-earnings multiple. While growth rates may begin to slow this year, investors should still keep a close eye on this under-the-radar Chinese company".

Has Genta's Energizer Bunny of Cancer Drugs Finally Run Out of Juice?

The most surprising thing about last week’s Phase III failure of beleaguered cancer drug Genasense was that Genta’s stock (GETA.OB) fell 70 percent. Seriously, who didn’t see this one coming? Read More

Something to look at, my man

Another look at Ecotality (ETLY), my man

A couple of updates on this promising stock:

November 4, 2009 - ECOtality, Inc. (OTCBB:ETLY), a leader in clean electric transportation and storage technologies, today announced it has entered into definitive agreements with institutional investors, including existing shareholders, for a capital investment of approximately $15.5 million in equity financing....Read more

October 30, 2009 - Nissan is a partner with Scottsdale-based Ecotality and its Phoenix subsidiary, Electric Transportation Engineering Corp., in a $99.8 million federal grant to install charging infrastructure in five states, including Arizona....Read more

Here's a link to my September post about Ecotality.

The China BioPharma/Zhejiang Tianyuan connection, my man

Courtesy of mviramgama on the Yahoo Finance board:

"On May 29, 2006, the Company announced that China BioPharma Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, has received approval from Zhejiang Provincial government of the Peoples Republic of China for its investment into Zhejiang Tianyuan Bio-Tech Co., Ltd. China BioPharma Limited will invest US$3,900,000 into Zhejiang Tianyuan Bio-Tech Co., Ltd. for 65% of the ownership. The investment is to be made within 180 days from May 24, 2006, when the operating license of Zhejiang Tianyuan Bio-Tech Co., Ltd. was issued by the government. Peter Wang, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Techedge Inc., will be the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Zhejiang Tianyuan Bio-Tech Co., Ltd." LINK

Weighing True Cost Of Delays In The Drug-Approval Process

by Thomas Sowell:

"....the question of how safe and how effective, and at what cost, must be considered as regards the years of tests and trials prescribed by the FDA's drug-approval process. The more years that the trials go on and the larger the number of people in the sample taking the drug, the more reliable the end results as to both safety and effectiveness — and the more sick people will be left to suffer and perhaps die while these processes go on." LINK

Open Thread, My Man

Whatever you want to talk about, my man.

One Dozen Small Stocks Survive My Screen Tests

From Bloomberg.com: -- I have nothing against large companies, but my heart belongs to small-cap value stocks.

As I see it, the chances of finding a gem in the rough are greater with small stocks. They are less followed by analysts and investors, so the opportunities haven’t been exhaustively picked over.

Last week I screened the 2,131 U.S. stocks with a market value between $250 million and $2 billion, using these filters:

-- Five-year sales and earnings growth averaging 10 percent a year or better.

-- Debt less than 50 percent of stockholders’ equity.

-- Price-to-earnings ratio below 15, measured on both the actual earnings for the trailing four quarters and the estimated earnings for 2009.

-- Price-to-book ratio (stock price divided by corporate net worth per share) and price-to-sales ratio (stock price divided by per-share sales) both below two.

Here’s a run-down, in alphabetical order, of the stocks that survived these screens....LINK

Take a look at American Oriental Bioengineering, Inc. (NYSE:AOB), my man

American Oriental Bioengineering, Inc. (Public, NYSE: AOB). Currently trading at $4.01 and it has been as high as $13 in recent years and it is a NYSE-traded so we're talking the big-leagues here.

BioCapital China Summit 2009 in Beijing, November 7, 2009, my man

For those interested in the Chinese biotech industry:

This special one-day Summit to be held in conjunction with Beijing’s premier life science conference, the Beijing International Healthcare Industry Forum 2009 (HIF), will explore the state of China’s rapidly growing biotech industry and the financial drivers that will determine its success, including:

• The State of China Biotech
• The Evolving Investment Climate - Issues and Opportunities
• How Government Funds Are Helping Biotech Companies Grow
• How to Attract Funding - What VCs Really Want
• Public Market Financing - Exit Opportunities for Biotech Companies

Plus the SEED Business Plan Competition, organized by Orbimed, McKinsey and Roche and presented by ChinaBio, will be launched as part of the BioCapital China Summit.

LINK

You can see who is sponsoring this event by clicking here.

Novartis wants China as its No. 3 market

From FiercePharma

"Novartis has upped the ante in China. Today, the Swiss drugmaker said it was buying an 85 percent chunk of the Chinese vaccines maker Zhejiang Tianyuan for $125 million. And that's just one-tenth of what Novartis is planning to spend on beefing up R&D in the country..."

Read more:

China Biopharma's big jump today, my man

0.0530 +0.0440 (488.89%)

What is up with the AVAX Technologies website, my man?

I like AVAX Technologies, Inc. (AVXT), my man. It seems like a promising biotech stock but what the hell is up with all their non-working links on their homepage???

Go to their site and you'll see what I mean. Right there on their main page there are two links under "Clinical News" about Phase III trials. They don't work.

Click on the Investor Relations tab and click on "Press Releases". Doesn't work. "Information Request" doesn't work either. Neither does "Stock Information" or "Ownership Profile".

At least I was able to reach their voice-mail on their PA phone number at 215-241-9760.

Will Nuvo Research (NRIFF) get FDA approval?

(PINK:NRIFF, 0.286) Your guess is as good as mine:

Seeking Alpha, August 19, 2009 - Nuvo Research Worth Buying

Press release from October 26, 2009 - Nuvo Research responds to increased trading activity

"While it is Nuvo's policy not to comment on market rumours or speculation, at the request of IIROC, Nuvo is confirming that, as previously disclosed, it anticipates receiving a decision from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on or about November 4, 2009

pertaining to the approvability of the Company's lead drug Pennsaid(R).

Nuvo has not yet received a decision from the FDA on the approvability of Pennsaid. When the Company does receive a decision from the FDA regarding Pennsaid, it will issue a press release in a timely manner."

Stockhouse, November 3, 2009 - Nickel plays and FDA approval : Best of the Boards/Blogs

Chinese movie studio eyes NYSE listing, my man

Interesting:

HONG KONG (AP) - A third leading Chinese movie studio is aiming for a listing—this time on the New York Stock Exchange—as the country's entertainment companies turn to the capital markets to raise funds. Beijing Polybona Film Distribution Co. is aiming to go public in the second half of next year or the first half of 2011, Chief Executive Yu Dong told The Associated Press in a phone interview Tuesday. The company will start drafting its listing application early next year, he said.

Polybona's rivals are making similar moves. Huayi Brothers Media Corp. debuted on China's new small companies market in the southern city Shenzhen on Friday, surging 148 percent on its first day of trading. The state-run China Film Group is planning to list in Shanghai, spokesman Weng Li told the AP recently. Yu said he wants to list Polybona in the U.S., where entertainment stocks are common, to open up the company to American and other foreign investors.

LINK

Farewell to HEB, my man

Well, not quite, my man. My Stop-Loss for Hemispherx BioPharma (AMEX:HEB) was triggered today when it reached $1.19. I sold 1,800 shares today leaving me with 500 share left stuck with the hope of FDA approval of Ampligen. I originally had 3,000 when this whole thing started back in May.

Based on yesterday's news it doesn't appear to me that there will be approval this year. And I think we all have less reason to trust Hemispherx Biopharma. Since May 25th we were under the impression that we were simply waiting to hear the FDA's verdict. But now it seems that the Ampligen application to the FDA wasn't complete.

I think we can expect to see HEB fall under a dollar. Ampligen may yet still get approved someday, my man. Just not this year.

HTDS coming back up, my man

Go HTDS!

Market Report -- In Play (HEB)

From MSN Money, November 2, 2009:

Hemispherx Biopharma updates chronic fatigue syndrome treatment and commercial application programs; plans to widen its ongoing clinical programs in CFS Co announces announces a two-prong CFS clinical mission for November and December 2009. The company plans to widen its ongoing clinical programs in C.F.S. by accelerating collaborations with a consortium of researchers who have just discovered a retroviral link to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. With the consortium of researchers at the Whittemore Peterson Institute, the company is also now evaluating the defect in immunosurveillance in specific subsets of C.F.S. patients in a clinical study entitled "Therapeutic Activation of NK lymphocytes to Alleviate Chronic Fatigue Syndrome." These immune defects may be due to the previously undetected retrovirus. The company also plans to complete all outstanding queries from the FDA regarding its New Drug Application for Ampligen, an experimental therapeutic, during Nov and Dec, 2009. LINK

Hemispherx Biopharma responding to FDA’s Ampligen questions

Philadelphia Business Journal, Monday, November 2, 2009:

Hemispherx Biopharma said Monday its plans to “complete all outstanding queries” from the Food and Drug Administration regarding the company’s new drug application for Ampligen this month and next.

The Philadelphia biotechnology company is seeking approval to market Ampligen as a treatment for chronic fatigue syndrome.

Hemispherx (NYSE Amex:HEB) officials said they already issued six reports to the FDA between March 9 and Sept. 15 including clinical safety assessments, specialized pre-clinical toxicology reports, and abbreviated chemistry and manufacturing control reports.

Over the next two months, the company plans to submit an additional four reports that will include pharmacokinetic analyses of the drug in multiple lower animal species and final validation reports of certain manufacturing procedures conducted at an independent facility.

Additionally, Hemispherx said Monday it intends to widen its ongoing clinical programs in chronic fatigue syndrome by accelerating collaborations with a consortium of researchers at the Whittemore Peterson Institute in Reno, Nev., who recently discovered a retroviral link to the disorder. LINK

Readers Ask: A Virus Linked to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

This should be of interest to HEB investors....

From the New York Times, October 15, 2009:

Readers Ask: A Virus Linked to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome By The New York Times Denise Grady, a science writer for The New York Times, recently explored the link between a recently discovered virus called XMRV and chronic fatigue syndrome, in “Is a Virus the Cause of Fatigue Syndrome?” On the Consults blog, scientists and doctors from the International Association for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, a society of 500 biomedical and behavioral professionals, took readers’ questions on chronic fatigue syndrome. LINK

Hemispherx BioPharma came really close to my Stop-Loss Order, my man

I have 2,300 shares of Hemispherx Biopharma and my Stop-Loss Order for HEB is $1.25. The stock fell down to $1.31 before closing up at $1.45 last Friday.

After missing out on DNDN and VNDA I jumped into HEB in early May with the hope of catching lighting. My plan was to cash out after FDA approval of Ampligen on May 25th and invest heavily into stocks like CTIC, PFE, LVS, F and HGSI. As you can see, that plan didn't work out as we are still waiting for FDA approval.

To honest I was feeling relieved on Friday at the prospect of getting out of Hemispherx Biopharma. This stock has been nothing but frustration since May. It's not a stock that inspires a whole lot of confidence. I don't know if their CEO has been totally honest with us and the FDA's silence since May gives us nothing but doubts. This is not a biotech with other drugs in the pipeline. Their cheap-looking web site doesn't inspire much assurance.

The stock has attracted a large number of bashers and doubters. President Obama has declared Swine Flu (H1N1) a national emergency. We're in the Fall. People are getting sick and the FDA is still silent on Ampligen. What? They haven't gotten their "staffing" issues resolved yet? But the real problem just may be that U.S. regulations are just too cautious when it comes to approving new drugs.

The money I have tied up in HEB would buy lots of shares in more promising companies like AVXT, MCET, NEOL and VRAL.

On the other hand Ampligen could still get approved. I could have anywhere from $10,000 to $20,000 to play with afterwards. Or the wait could drag out into 2010. Or maybe it won't get approved.

Frustration.

A FORWARD SPLIT for HTDS: What do you think my man?

Results of last month's poll. 190 votes total:

Love it: 45 votes - 23%
A good thing: 39 votes - 20%
Really not sure: 62 votes - 32%
Probably not good: 23 votes - 12%

Hate it: 21 votes - 11%

(I know the percentages add up to 98%. Don't know why but that's what Google generated). As for myself, I voted really not sure but I'm optimistic. I wonder how accurate the poll is. Did people vote more than once? I have 31 followers but very few comments. I hope people will speak out more in the future.