Topic: How To Invest

Q: Pat: What do you think of ProMetic Life Sciences as a speculative holding?

Article Excerpt

A: ProMetic Life Sciences, $1.45, symbol PLI on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 604.6 million; Market cap: $1.1 billion; www.prometic.com), makes products that are used in the purification of vaccines, plasma and other biologics. Its products are also used to develop drugs, analyze proteins and remove pathogens. ProMetic uses its own technology for the extraction and purification of therapeutic proteins from human plasma. That purified plasma is then used in the creation of therapeutics and orphan drugs. An Orphan Drug designation is granted to drugs or biologics that treat a rare disease or condition affecting fewer than 200,000 U.S. patients. The designation provides the drug developer with exclusive marketing rights in the U.S. for seven years, as well as tax credits for their clinical research costs. Companies with the designation are also eligible for annual grant funding, clinical trial assistance and waivers for prescription drug fees. In addition, ProMetic aims to develop drugs for sufferers of fibrosis, cancer and autoimmune diseases. In the three months ended…