Newsgroup: it.economia.borsa.estero
Titolo: NEWS----BICO----NEWS

Clinical Trials and Possible Breakthrough Push BICO’s Volume
By Gregory Thomas
Published by OTCNN.com
08/25/2000 09:06 AM EST
The fate of a diabetic laboratory research animal at the Duke
University Medical Center caught the attention of biotech investors
Tuesday. The primate was the focus of the second announcement in a
week from BICO, Inc. (OTCBB: BICO) a Pittsburgh biomedical research
and development company.
BICO (formerly Biocontrol Technology) announced that its subsidiary
Diasensor.com Inc. is doubling its 10% interest in MicroIslet, Inc.
The announcement followed what BICO described as a significant
milestone achievement in the laboratory of Duke researcher Dr Emmanuel
Opara. MicroIslet holds several licenses on diabetes treatment
technology developed by Dr. Opara, Duke’s director of islet transplant
research. 
Duke researchers performed an islet cell transplant on a primate
afflicted with severe diabetes. The animal showed blood glucose
readings in excess of 600mg/dl prior to the procedure. BICO says the
transplant has restored proper glucose control for a period well into
the fourth month, giving the test animal consistently normal blood
glucose readings between 80 and 110 mg/dl. 
The company says the technology developed at Duke represents a unique
method for isolation, culture, storage, and immunoprotection of
transplanted islet cells. BICO now has a 20% interest in MicroIslet
after acquiring 10% in January with a $500,000 seed capital
investment. 
BICO announced Thursday that its subsidiary, Diasensor.com Inc.,
obtained FDA approval for clinical trials of the Diasensor 2000 blood
glucose monitor. The device measures a diabetic’s blood glucose level
by directing a beam of infrared light at the patient’s forearm. 
Diabetics need to constantly monitor their glucose levels by pricking
their fingertips, which is a costly, complicated and painful
procedure. Sixteen million Americans have been diagnosed with diabetes
and four million of those require daily insulin therapy. There is no
known cure. The cost to diabetics of blood glucose measurement is
estimated at $3 billion each year, and expenditures are growing at an
annual rate of 12 to 18 percent. 
With 2200 new diabetes cases diagnosed each day, the disease is
especially tough on parents who must constantly perform finger pokes
on their children. A typical message posted on the Yahoo online
support club for parents of diabetic children, "Our Sweet Kids", comes
from one South Carolina mother. 
"I would gladly take 100 shots a day if he would not have to take one.
But I can’t I can’t make it go away and make it better for him this
time it is killing me. I am the only one who inflicts this pain on my
baby it is not fair to me or him. But what makes it ok is when my
little four year old puts his arms around my neck as we both cry and
he says ‘that’s ok Mommy I know you love me’." 
To date, no non-invasive method of testing blood glucose has received
FDA approval. BICO’s Diasensor technology has been under development
for more than ten years. In Thursday’s announcement, BICO said the new
clinical study would be coordinated under the direction of Boston’s
Joslin Diabetes Center, an affiliate of the Harvard Medical School. 
The Diasensor project has been before the FDA since February 1994. In
1996, investors filed a class action lawsuit in U.S. District Court in
Western Pennsylvania. The investors sought damages against Biocontrol
Technology, its Diasensor subsidiary, and three officers of the
company after an FDA panel denied the original application and the
company’s share price dropped dramatically. 
BICO and its subsidiaries have raised over $137 million in private and
public offerings since 1989, including $62 million since 1996. The
company has 960 million shares outstanding. In SEC filings August 14,
the company registered 118,350 shares relating to convertible
debenture and convertible preferred share issues. The same day, the
company registered an additional 313 million shares to raise money to
fund operations. Ultimately, total shares outstanding could number
1.394 billion. 
In January, after nine years of development, another BICO subsidiary,
IDT Inc., received FDA approval to market the ThermoChem-HT System for
cancer treatment. The system was developed at Wake Forest University’s
Baptist Medical Center by Dr. Brian Loggie, a surgical oncologist. 
BICO’s critics point to thin revenues and substantial executive
compensation. Since the January FDA approval, BICO has realized no
sales of the ThermoChem-HT System. Although the Diasensor 2000 glucose
measurement system is approved for sale in Europe, there have been no
European sales to date. BICO reported total revenues $38,000 for the
six months ended June 30 and an operating loss of $11.5 million. The
company reported combined 1999 salary and bonus of just over $1
million for CEO Fred Cooper. At June 30, the company had cash and cash
equivalents of $11.8 million resulting from the most recent round of
financing. 
The company continues to invest in new biotech ventures while pursuing
longstanding research projects. With BICO stock closing at 13 cents
Tuesday, the company and its subsidiaries had federal tax loss carry
forwards of approximately $110 million, expiring during the years 2000
through 2020. 
Stock Action Summary - BICO
Price as of 8/24/00: $0.125 down $0.002 
Volume: 14,350,400
Bid: $0.125 Ask: $0.125
P/E: N/A
52-week range: $0.0160 - $1.0470
Shares Outstanding: 960,520,000
Market Cap: $120,065,000
OTC News Network is an unbiased, objective news source focusing
exclusively on OTC Bulletin Board companies. We do NOT publish any
paid editorial content. In addition, OTC News Network does NOT own any
stock in any OTC Bulletin Board companies. None of the shareholders,
officers and affiliated entities owns any stock in the companies
mentioned in this article. This ensures that OTCNN can make its
editorial decisions objectively. Companies included in the news
stories have NOT paid a fee or any other form of compensation for
their appearance. 


[ CUT ]