Analysts buoy Cell Genesys' hope for GVAX

Shares of Cell Genesys got hit hard last week after the company announced that it was being forced to halt a late-stage trial of its cancer vaccine due to a higher death rate among patients taking a combination of GVAX and Taxotere. Researchers reported that 67 people in the GVAX arm had died compared to 47 in the group taking Taxotere alone.

But not all the analysts were ready to write off the company's prospects. The biotech's share price bounced 31 percent the day after it plunged 72 percent, largely because some analysts believe that GVAX can still win an approval. Previous trials have demonstrated efficacy and a second late-stage trial is still underway.

"The most substantial market opportunity for GVAX, we think, remains intact," said Pamela Bassett of Cantor Fitzgerald, in a reference to patients with early stage prostate cancer and those who are treatment naïve.

- read the AP report

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