Newsgroup: it.economia.borsa.estero
Titolo: ARIAD

Qualcuno dei piu' esperti potrebbe darmi qualche informazione sul titolo ARIAD 
Pharmaceutical (biotecnologie, quotato al NASDAQ)? 
Ho preso questo titolo poco sopra i 16, ora e' sotto i 10, ma quello che mi 
preoccupa di piu' e' che sembra che continui a scendere anche quando il NASDAQ 
sale. Ci sono speranze che recuperi, oppure e' meglio vendere anche se in (non 
trascurabile) perdita?
Grazie per le risposte. Roberto

non che mi consideri fra i piu' esperti, anzi, ma ho trovato questo buy di
ieri
ciao
Carlo
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April 25, 2000  RECOMMENDATION: BUY
ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:  ARIA)
ARIAD Reports Significant Breakthrough in Stem Cell Therapy;
Reiterating BUY Recommendation
MARKET DATA:
Exchange Symbol  ARIA (NASDAQ)
Price of Common Stock (4/24/00)  $10.44
30-Day Average Trading Volume  3.0 million
Common Shares Outstanding 24.5 million
52-Week High/Low $48.50/$0.50 ARIA CORPORATE INFORMATION
Address 26 Landsdowne Street
 Cambridge, MA  02139
Telephone 
(617) 494-0400
Chairman & CEO Harvey J. Berger, M.D.
EVP & CFO Jay R. LaMarche
ARIA’S UNIQUE GENE REGULATION TECHNOLOGY APPLIED TO STEM CELL THERAPY
ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“ARIA”) announced recently that it has
developed a new application for its ARGENT™ platform technology, utilizing
it in the regulation of stem cell growth and differentiation.  Stem cells
are self-renewing master cells with the capacity to turn into a variety of
specialized cell and tissue types and therefore have been the subject of
intense interest in the medical community.  With the ability to control the
specialization pathways of stem cells, it is thought that strategies can be
developed for treating a wide range of diseases.  However, properties
inherent to stem cells, such as an inability to tightly control their
growth, make them exceedingly difficult to work with and have impeded
progress in the development of stem cell-based therapies.  ARIA’s gene
regulation technology has now been shown to overcome these major technical
hurdles.
ARIA and its collaborators at the University of Washington successfully
utilized the ARGENT gene regulation system to trigger the expansion of a
specific subtype of blood cells from a mixed population of progenitor stem
cells isolated from human umbilical cord blood.  The researchers inserted
into stem cells a gene encoding a receptor which normally functions in
signaling red blood cells to grow.  The protein was modified so that it was
active only in the presence of AP1903, ARIA’s proprietary small-molecule
drug.  The rate of growth was successfully controlled by adjusting the drug
dose or stopped by simply removing the drug.  This work has clear clinical
implications as it suggests that patients with genetic blood disorders could
be treated by administering stem cells engineered with the ARGENT system and
then dosed with AP1903 to trigger the production of specific blood cells
containing a “correct” copy of a defective gene (e.g., beta-globin for use
in beta thallasemia.).  Additionally, since the ARGENT system can employ
many different genes involved in a variety of differentiation processes, it
can be broadly used for the production of numerous different cell types,
resulting in tissue for transplantation.  This application fits well with
the growing field of “regenerative medicine.”
ARIA has also announced that it has expanded its ongoing collaboration with
the University of Washington and has an exclusive license to patents
covering the methods for controlling the growth and differentiation of stem
cells and other progenitor cells using ARGENT.  ARIA also will receive
rights to all intellectual property and inventions made using ARIA’s
technology as part of the future collaboration.
The Company also announced yesterday the issuance of two additional ARGENT
patents.  The first of these patents covers the use of ARGENT in genetically
engineering stem cells for use in bone marrow transplants.  The second
patent is an extension of the ARGENT system, which allows increased control
of the intra-cellular localization of ARGENT proteins.  We believe these
newly issued patents add to the eight previously existing patents in
expanding ARIA’s intellectual property position on its ARGENT system.
We believe ARIA’s work represents a significant breakthrough in stem cell
science and has clear implications in evolving this emerging technology into
a practical therapeutic approach.  This positions ARIA very well alongside
leaders in the stem cell therapy field.  We are reiterating our BUY rating
on ARIA and recommend purchase of stock for those investors tolerant of the
risks associated with small cap stocks.
Reprinted From February 8, 2000 Research Update:  Review of ARIA’s
RAPID Gene Regulation Technology
ARIA’s RAPID™ Technology was featured in the February 4th issue of Science
reporting its success in regulating the production and release of insulin in
diabetic mice via a small molecule drug.  RAPID (Regulated Accumulation of
Proteins for Immediate Delivery) is another extension of ARIA’s extensive
work in developing technologies to regulate gene expression, complementing
its ARGENT system.
RAPID™ TECHNOLOGY
The RAPID technology is a natural extension of ARIA's ARGENT system.  Using
ARGENT, the production of therapeutic protein is regulated by a small
molecule dimerizer drug.  However, upon administering the small molecule
drug, levels of therapeutic protein in the blood do not peak for nearly 24
hours because of the time required for the cells to manufacture protein.
The RAPID technology provides a means to deliver therapeutically relevant
levels of protein much faster.  The key difference between RAPID and ARGENT
is that RAPID proteins are expressed and stored in the cell before the
administration of the small molecule drug.  This means that when the drug is
given, the protein has already been made and can be quickly secreted by the
cells into the blood.  ARIA scientists report that peak blood levels of
therapeutic protein can be obtained in less than two hours.  This has clear
advantages for therapeutic applications where a rapid onset of therapy is
required, such as the dosing of insulin in diabetics.
In the February 4th issue of Science, ARIA scientists reported the in vitro
and in vivo application of RAPID for expression of insulin and human growth
hormone.  Briefly, the gene therapy approach of ARGENT was modified so that
secretion, or release, of protein from cells was controlled by a small
molecule drug.  Protein was continuously expressed as a fusion (two proteins
connected together) to a protein called a conditional aggregation domain
(CAD), which caused the fusion protein to clump together and get stuck
inside the cell.  This process is part of a naturally occurring pathway
where a cell expresses, stores and then secretes proteins.  In the case of
RAPID, however, the clumping ability of the CAD proteins was engineered so
that it is regulated by a small molecule drug.  Therefore, when the drug is
present, the protein no longer sticks together and is free to progress
towards the surface of the cell.  Since the CAD portion of the protein must
be removed in order for the therapeutic protein to function, ARIA scientists
engineered a protease cleavage site between the therapeutic piece and the
CAD piece of the fusion protein.  This site is specific for a protease
involved in removing CAD domains from naturally occurring proteins and so
the therapeutic protein is processed by the cell just as any other secreted
protein would.  After the protease cuts the fusion protein, an intact and
fully functional therapeutic protein is released into the bloodstream.  Once
all of the stored protein is released (after administration of a saturating
amount of small molecule drug), cells require as little as ten hours to
produce enough protein for a subsequent treatment.
The Science article points out some significant advantages of RAPID over
existing gene therapy approaches.  In a diabetic mice model, it was shown
that the level of active insulin in the blood could be regulated by the
amount of administered drug but that the effect was short-lived.  Glucose
levels in the blood were shown to drop as insulin levels were rising,
demonstrating that insulin production by RAPID was able to control blood
sugar.  This rapid but transient "burst" of protein mimics the action of an
injection of insulin and would be advantageous in the treatment of other
indications where rapid levels of therapy are required for short duration
(such as treatment of high blood pressure, pain, etc).  ARIA also
demonstrated in cells that the baseline level of protein excretion could be
modulated in a controlled fashion.  Therefore, low levels of therapy could
be continuously administered followed by "bursts" induced by the small
molecule drug.  This could be very beneficial for diabetics who might be
able to better control insulin levels between meals or for relief of acute
pain followed by control of chronic pain.
RISK CONSIDERATIONS:
This section of the document is provided to remind potential investors to
undertake a prudent level of due diligence prior to making an investment in
the securities of ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Inc.  For a complete description of
risks and uncertainties to ARIA’s business, see the “Risk Factors” section
in ARIA’s SEC filings, which can be accessed directly from the SEC Edgar
filings at 
www.SEC.gov
 on the Internet.  Other potential risks include:
? Market risk:  Investors should consider technical risks common to many
small-cap or micro-cap stock investments, including liquidity levels, small
float, risk of dilution, dependence upon key personnel, dependence upon
single products or technologies, and the strength of competitors that may be
larger, better capitalized and hold dominant market positions.
? Business risk:  ARIA has limited experience in the commercialization of
pharmaceutical products.  Many of its products are in the early stages of
development.  Additionally, ARIA intends to license rights to some of its
products to other companies.  There can be no assurance that these licensing
agreements will be completed, or that the market will accept any products
under development.
? Regulatory risk:  There is no guarantee that future ARIA products will be
approved by the US FDA or international regulatory bodies for marketing in
the US or abroad.
? Competitive risk:  The biotechnology industry is extremely competitive, in
particular because of its large market potential.  Many companies are
developing products for the therapeutic indications targeted by ARIA.
SOURCES FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
The following are website addresses offering related information, and links
to other sources of information.
www.ariad.com
   ARIAD’s corporate website
www.hoechst.com
   Hoecsht Marion Roussel corporate website
www.SmallCapsOnline.com
  SmallCaps Online’s site for company information and
research
www.FDA.gov
   US Food and Drug Administration homepage
www.sec.gov
  US Securities and Exchange Commission, with links to EDGAR
filings
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Grazie molte per le utili informazioni su ARIAD. Speriamo che questo titolo si 
riprenda un po'!
Ciao
Roberto