In this case, say Gorman, the announcement has been terrific therapy for Entremed, the biotech company that has licensed Folkman's research. The surge in Entremed's stock price today was also good news for Dr. Folkman's research institution, Children's Hospital in Boston: According to Entremed's 10k filed with the SEC, Children's Hospital owns options on 83,334 shares at $6 a share and a further 50,000 shares at $6.375 a share. (The stock closed Friday at $12 1/16 and today hit a high of $85, before dropping to $48.)
Gorman particularly notes that the Times report -- which she says "gives desperately ill people false hope at this time" -- arises out of an Entremed press tour rather than the publication of peer-reviewed research. She says research into anti-angiogenesis is familiar to the medical community, and has been under way for 30 years. Some rival studies may be further along than Folkman's. "Past experience has shown that often when announcements like this are made, if you dig a little deeper you find a biotech company in need of capital," says Gorman. "They're leaving out how difficult it is to get from this stage to something that will actually help people."