BioCentury
ARTICLE | Finance

Ebb & Flow

May 14, 2007 7:00 AM UTC

A few cancer vaccine companies and insiders managed to capitalize on rising share prices during the brief window between the March 29 FDA panel vote in favor of Dendreon's Provenge sipuleucel-T for prostate cancer and the double dose of bad news last week: an approvable letter from FDA for Provenge and an FDA panel vote against approval of IDM Pharma's Junovan mifamurtide(see "The Thrill is Gone?").

Cell Genesys, which has a Phase III prostate cancer vaccine, raised $60 million on April 11 in a registered direct offering of 10.8 million units at $5.55. Each unit consists of a share and a five-year warrant to purchase 0.2 shares, with each whole share warrant exercisable at $7.18 per share. Prior to the offering, CEGE was at $6.08 but since has slumped to $4.13 on Friday...