Finally Justice for Provenge?

http://www.iii.co.uk/news/?type=afxnews&articleid=6445703&subject=companies&action=article


This is very good news. Enough said. :)

Paul Golberg in hiding? Provenge update and links . .

I haven't updated the blog in quite some time, but after reading the latest developments - I decided that this whole debacle was just too interesting and far too important for me not to blog about it.

My gut instinct told me something was terribly awry with Dr. Scher and Dr. Hussain's dogmatic and frenzied media campaign against Provenge. So I started digging around to see what would make these doctors go out of their way and act so unprofessional. What I found was merely the tip of the iceberg. Since my last blog entries many other internet bloggers, investors, cancer patients and advocates have dug up more dirt than I could have ever imagined possible.

There have been so many twists and turns in the past few months that I could not possibly write about all of them today here are some links where others have documented recent developments in this Provenge tragedy.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4697788418701224822&hl=en

http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jul2007/tc20070724_550192.htm

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2003813806_dendreon31.html

http://pharm-aid.blogspot.com/2007/07/provenge-companies-and-pr-firm.html

http://ahrp.blogspot.com/2007/08/pharmalot-blows-lid-off-fda-coi-waivers.html

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2167383659619688797

http://www.fiercebiotech.com/story/provenge-delay-triggers-furor-among-cancer-victims/2007-07-06

http://blog.myspace.com/Slimguitz

http://www.myspace.com/approve_provenge_now

http://www.zacks.com/blog/comments.php?cid=8288

Ironically my last article was about Paul Goldberg and his publication The Cancer Letter.

There is a non for profit that has started a lawsuit against the FDA. The group goes by the name Care to Live. The lawyers representing Care to Live want some info from Mr. Goldberg in court. They want to know is exactly who in the FDA 'leaked' the letters to Mr. Goldberg. Goldberg was responsible for publishing what some view as an orchestrated media campaign against Provenge's approval.

In this media campaign Howard Scher and Maha Hussain - doctors with a seemingly never ending list of financial conflicts of interest - wrote letters against Provenge's approval that were later published in Goldberg's publication.

Many people thought the timing of Goldberg's publishings was rather suspect... and that perhaps hedge funds knew about these letters before the were published.

Mr. Goldbedrg started publishing these letters about a month before the final FDA approval date. The first letter he started off with was from Dr. Howard Shcher. The publication came out on a Friday -before the market closed. The stock plummeted after Goldberg published Scher's letter.

The following week the stock started gradually recouping in it's price per share. Then once again the following Friday before market closed Goldberg releases yet another letter in his publication. This time around the letter was from Dr. Maha Hussain - yet another doctor with numerous conflicts of interests. Click here to read her conflicts of interests and time line.

The stock once again plummeted after Goldberg published Hussain's letter. Next week Dendreon's stock starts to recuperate. Then the following Friday Mr. Goldberg published the mack daddy letter of them all. This time the letter from the nationally recognized statistician who specializes in clinical trials design. Dr. Thomas R. Fleming wrote his own letter pleading for Provenge to be denied.

What was Goldberg's motivation to publish these letters? Why didn't he publish all the letters in the same week? Do one big pithy story on Provenge? Yet he decided to save each letter and published them on a weekly basis leading up to the final date? Did his contact at the FDA give him these letters all at once? Were Hussain, Sher, and Flemming together on this? I find it odd that in Flemming's letter he writes about how Howard Scher was kept up all night after the advisory panel's positive review on Provenge,

" Reportedly, Scher felt motivated to write the letter after being kept awake the night following the March 29, 2007, FDA Cellular, Tissue and Gene Therapies Advisory Committee"

Flemming himself goes onto write, "I also was kept awake the night following the panel".

We may never find out what Goldberg's motivations were or what his reasons were behind the timing of releasing these letters. However finding out the exact identity of the mole at the FDA who leaked these letters might shed more light on this whole situation.

Looks like Mr. Goldberg doesn't want to give up the info. Take a look at this Pharmalot article written by Ed Silverman . . . .

There’s nothing like the Provenge controversy to generate interesting tales. For those who don’t recall, Provenge is a prostate-cancer vaccine developed by Dendreon, and was recommended by an FDA panel last spring. But approval was unexpectedly delayed by the agency after two dissenting panel members wrote the FDA commish to think twice.

That set off a firestorm - threats and charges of conflicts of interest against the two panel members; protests by cancer patients; angry Internet missives by investors and, most recently, a lawsuit against the FDA filed by a newly formed non-profit called Care To Live, which appears to have been created specifically for this battle.

Now, the attorney who filed the lawsuit has posted details of how his private investigator stalked Paul Goldberg, who broke the story of how panel member Howard Scher wrote the FDA to delay Provenge approval. Goldberg publishes The Cancer Letter from his Washington, DC, home with his wife, Kirsten, who’s the publisher. The non-profit wants to know how Goldberg got the letter.

Two days ago, attorney Kerry Donahue took the unusual step of writing on the Investor Village web site: “Last night, the Goldbergs hid in their basement and refused to answer their door to accept CareToLive subpoenas. Today, they left town…

…in order to avoid further service (their counsel already acknowledged receipt of faxed subpoenas in this matter). Today they were served by personal process service on their household to a person over age 18. The Goldbergs thought they escaped town and avoided legal process. WRON

Wow -Paul Goldberg is hiding out in that murky basement of his? Refusing to answer the door? Gee what does he have to hide? Who at the FDA is he covering for?

Goldberg must be loving every minute of this excitement. This Russian immigrant probably hasn't had anything this exciting happen to him since exposing Martha Stewart. This time around though the tables are turned, and he's the one that is risking exposure.

I smell a rat somewhere. Hopefully the slow wheels of justice will be able to find out exacty where and what that rat is. I am sure there is a begnin and logical explanation for all of this Mr. Goldberg -there's no need to hide :) .

Paul Goldberg fights the cancer "right wing insurgency"

Insurgents

1. Rising in revolt against established authority, especially a government.

2. Rebelling against the leadership of a political party.

Paul Goldberg of The Cancer Letter does not seem to fancy the idea of Provenge approval either. He has been the one responsible for publishing "leaked" negative FDA letters in his publication the Cancer Letter.

Who is Paul Goldberg, and why might he not want Provenge to be approved?

Paul Goldberg, along with his wife, runs a home business by publishing the Cancer Letter out of their D.C. basement. Neither of them are doctors. It is a very lucrative business, earning the Goldbergs approximately 500, 000 thousand dollars a year in income.

According to a Washington Post article Paul Goldberg decided to work at the Cancer Letter because,

"It was money and I needed it."

Paul Goldberg is very political. Merril Goozner writes in one of his articles,

"Paul Goldberg's influential "Cancer Letter" pointed out in its August issue how a right wing "insurgency" is pushing for early approvals of cancer drugs.."

Paul Goldberg is not a big fan of the current FDA chief that was appointed by President George W. Bush. According to a New York Times article,

"Paul Goldberg, editor of The Cancer Letter, a Washington newsletter that has been critical of some of Dr. von Eschenbach's policies, said he suspected that if given free rein, Dr. von Eschenbach would relax standards on drug approvals. "

Dr. von Eschenbach was appointed head of the FDA by president George Bush. He is a man on a mission. That mission is

"eliminating suffering and death due to cancer by 2015."
.

Paul Goldberg has gone out of his way to public these allegedly "leaked" letters from the FDA. Making a public circus of it all. It should be a private dignified debate within the FDA, but Goldberg doesn't seem to want to keep it private. Perhaps this excerpt from Goldberg's Cancer Letter will give some insight as to why he wants to make this a public fight,

"By refraining from challenging von Eschenbach's four-year stewardship of NCI, Democrats forego the opportunity to question his reorganizing the institute for the pursuit of a blatantly unachievable and now apparently abandoned goal to 'eliminate suffering and death due to cancer' by 2015. "

So The Cancer Letter thinks that finding cure to cancer by 2015 is a "blatantly unachievable" goal? This is the opinion coming from two people who are not even doctors, or scientists. They feel that Democrats should not refrain from challenging Von Eschenbach? Since when is cancer and finding a cure a partisan subject? Is cancer political?

Why doesn't Paul Goldberg publish something positive about Provenge? Wouldn't that be fair and balanced?There were, after all, 13 scientists and physicians who voted for Provenge.

No - he only publishes letters by doctors who don't want Provenge to be approved. Could it be that Goldberg is making his own "counter-surgency" attack via his newsletter?

Just yesterday Mr. Goldberg published another ‘leaked’ letter from the FDA. This time the letter was from Dr. Maha Hussain. . .

Who is Dr. Maha Hadi Hussain?

Dr. Maha Hussain graduated from the Baghdad University School of Medicine. She escaped from Iraq and now practices in the USA. She is also in Dr Scher’s camp of treating cancer. She is an expert in her field. She has dedicated her whole life to the subject of cancer. Both Scher and Hussain work with chemo. She, like Scher, is also currently acting either as a paid consultant or investigator or sub investigator for several of Dendreon's competitors.

Another similarity between Dr. Howard Scher( Goldberg published his letter) and Dr. Maha Hussain is that they both had to sign conflict of interest waivers in order to vote on Provenge.

Why? Well her husband Dr. Salam Jafar Hussain, a physician at Ann Arbor Radiation Oncology center, owns stock in companies that could be viewed as competetors with Dendreon.
He is in charge of phase III clinical trial for Taxotere® at Michigan Cancer Research Consortium, and at St. Joseph Mercy Cancer Center. Cick here as well for more information.

Dr. Howard Scher's is also studying III clinical trials for Taxotere®. Taxotere® is a chemo based drug that is targeted to treat late prostate cancer. So technically speaking it is a competetor for Provenge.

Take a look at Dr. MahaHussain's conflict of interest waiver here.

During the FDA panel she was very adamant and loud about her views. She really did not want Provenge to receive a positive recommendation.

I ask myself - why doesn't Paul Goldberg publish something positive about Provenge? He's gotten a hold of these negative letters written by doctors who have had to sign conflict of interest waivers ...why won't he do the same for the pro Provenge train of thought? Or would anything positive about Provenge play into his " right wing insurgency theory"?"

Perhaps to get an answer to my question I should just ask Harmon Eyre, chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society in Atlanta, what he thinks about the Goldbergs.

"They serve as their own editors so there is no one reviewing reports for accuracy and fairness and you can see the slant"

Oh I get it now . . . Thanks Dr. Harmon Eyre for clearing that up!

Mathew Herper from Forbes and Dr. Scher's rep say: No way Jose!

In a Forbes article released today Dr. Howard Scher "rep" alleges that he does not know of any family members that would benefit financially if Provenge was not approved.

A Memorial Sloan-Kettering spokeswoman says that Scher had nothing to do with his letter leaking, and that he knew of no family members who would benefit financially either way if Provenge were approved.

In my previous brainstorming I gathered enough information to believe that there was enough evidence to conclude that Barry S. Lafer is a member of Howard Scher's family in law.

Barry S. Lafer owns Lafer Equities which is an offshore arbitrage hedge fund in the Cayman Islands. They are worth around 200 million. Alot of the stock they own is in companies that have in one way or another something related to cancer and chemotherapy.

Now how are you so sure Barry and Alan Lafer are related to Deborah Lafer ( Howard Scher’s wife) you might ask me.

Where's your proof?

Ok point well taken, so put your thinking caps on and let me show you step by step how I came to this conclusion based on facts I found. Just keep in mind I am not 100 percent sure. Just 99 percent sure they are all in the same big happy family.
First off Howard Scher wed Deborah Lafer who worked for Warburg Pincus at the time of their wedding. Click here to read the article.

Now in the New York Times there is a death notice for a Louis Lafer.

Click on this link and you can read it yourself.

Louis was the father to Barry and Alan Lafer. One of the surviving brothers was Fred Lafer.

According to this New York times article Fred Lafer is Deborah Lafer’s father.

Click again here to see proof.

According the the New York Times death notice Barry Laffer’s father was Louis Lafer. Deborah’s father Fred is Barry Lafer’s uncle. In other words Deborah and Barry are first cousins.

Louis Lafer ( brothers) Fred Lafer
Father of Father of
Barry Lafer Deborah Lafer

I find it odd , given the fact that his wife used to work in one of the world's largest hedge funds, that Dr. Howard Scher is oblivious and does not know that his wife's family has over 200 million dollars in an offshore hedge fund in the Cayman Islands. And they invest in one of his favorite subjects - cancer! How can that subject not come up around the dinner table?

Just in case you’re still a doubting Thomas let’s look at some more connections between Deborah Lafer-Scher and Barry Lafer.

They have both made campaign donations from the same Wayne New Jersey location .
Click here to see Barry S Lafer’s donation
Click here to read Howard Scher's mother in law's donation location.

Now back to Matthew Herper's article. He goes on to scoff at the idea of a connection stating,

In response to a previous Forbes story, readers wrote in alleging that Scher's wife works for a hedge fund that might be short Dendreon stock (betting against its rise). This is not true. She works in human resources for a nursing home company that could not conceivably benefit materially from any news about Dendreon..."

On this blog I mentioned that Dr. Scher's wife used to work at a company that runs UBS and has one of the worlds largest hedge funds. Never did I say that she works for a hedge fund. Her family does though. Lafer Equities.Howard Scher's family's hedge fund according to this SEC document was heavily invested in Cancer/Chemo stocks last quarter.

Murphy Blinded Journalist?

Why a journalist for such a respected publication as Forbes would not look a little deeper before completely ruling out any connection is tantamount to shoddy, and sloppy one sided reporting.

Making dogmatic conclusions and printing them as fact in Forbes ( of all publications) without further investigating them makes me think this particular writer is not the brightest bulb in the closet. Either that or he just wants people to see things how he wants them to.

Brean Murray Speaks of Faith

On April 16 Brean Murray's reiteration of their opinion on Provenge was particularly odd - given their choice of words.

"We reiterate our Sell rating and target price of $1.50, which is based on our lack of faith of PROVENGE approval."

Today they played the "faith' card once again saying,

"Firm reiterates their Sell rating and target price of $1.50, which is based on their lack of faith in PROVENGE approval and calculated cash per share est"

When I first read this I stepped back and thought - what?

They issue sell ratings based on a lack of faith ?

I found that particular word choice ( almost religious ) in a statement by a financial analyst rather dramatic.

Faith conjures (to me at least),ideas of god, heaven, hope, and of life. Here are a few definitions I found on the web:

Faith - belief that is not based on proof

Faith -The theological virtue defined as secure belief in God and a trusting acceptance of God's will.

What is wrong with this picture?

They play the faith card in the hopes that a drug that helps to extend the lives of advanced prostate cancer patients (according to many medical experts and scientists), will not be approved for patients whom are a possibly facing death in the near future?

Whose faith really matters ?

The faith ( or lack of) financial analysts . . .

or the faith of cancer sufferers of all kinds throughout the world?

Terminally ill cancer patient speaks on faith.

What about the faith of the families of those affected?

Thought leader warns ; Don't throw the baby out with the bath water

UBS Analysts ( UBS has said in the past they are short on DNDN ) put out a research report today.

It basically advises the FDA not to listen to un-serious oncologists.

Here is a snippet from the report citing thoughts from UBS' serious oncologist (and this is verbatim from their '"research report") . . .

"A thought leader from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (New York) who said it was “important not to throw the baby out with the bathwater.”

Take us to your thought leader.

What exactly is an un-serious oncologist?

OK now boys and girls take heed to what the UBS report says.

Drink your Koolaide, sell your shares , and make sure not to throw your babies out with the bathwater.

Brean Murray doesn't like Provenge

After the FDA approval panel vote , Brean Murray's Jonathan Aschoff has been on an intense media campaign by 'reiterating' almost everyday their opinion on Provenge.

They want people to sell their stock in Provenge. They ( or the hedge funds they work for ) have a short position in the stock. A lot of rich people on Wallstreet are under water financially right now. Even the t.v. personality Cramer said he personally knows a lot of people who have lost their whole year ( financially) for shorting Dendreon.

Aschoff even went so far to issue this statement. . .

"Brean Murray Carret & Co. analyst Jonathan Aschoff said the FDA would set a "dangerous double standard" by approving Provenge, which did not meet its primary goal in two phase III trials.

I don't know about what others think - but to me that sounds as if he is basically saying .... How dare you to the FDA and the panel of doctor and scientists who gave the thumbs up . . . and that is pretty funny coming from a man who has impersonated a doctor.

I begin to ask myself - why? Apart from the financial reasons why are they so upset about a drug that extends the life of prostate cancer patients? What is so terrible about the advancement of science?

Brean Murray is after all a market maker for DNDN.
Dr Howard Scher has been singing the same tune as Brean Murray. Aschoff often refers to Scher's opinion as a basis for his negative opinion.

Who is Dr. Howard Scher?

Here's some quick background information...

Dr Howard Scher voted was one of the minority on the FDA panel who voted NO against Provenge.

Scher has dedicated his career and his life's work on treating cancer patients with chemotherapy. One could deduct given his own media campaign against Provenge that he's not too happy about this new science that teaches the human body to to defend itself from cancer.
Dr Scher’s from the ‘old school’ thought for treating cancer. In other words chemotherapy. So all this new fancy “biotechnology” and training the body to cure itself ain’t exactly Dr. Scher’s cup of tea.

However he had every right to vote no . He just not too keen on the whole newfangled Provenge thing - that’s ok. It is good to have balance at AC FDA meetings.

He did have to sign a conflict of interest waiver in order to vote at the meeting. No big deal - It's just that Scher’s instituion has a grant from a competing firm that is studying an investigational drug in several types of cancer. It might just be Taxotere® which treats late stage prostate cancer via the ‘old school’ chemotherapy method - Scher's instituion recieves grants from the company that is studying Taxotore. Click here to read the FDA waiver.


Scher has even published what I view as his own "how dare you FDA" out in the media. The letter is an oddity in itself. So odd that in fact many thought it was a hoax! He contradicts himself over and over again ,and even changes his mind about the safety of Provenge - after voting at the AC panel meeting that it was safe. Before this letter was published there were rumors on Wallstreet about the letter. All in all .....rather odd behavior for a doctor of his stature.

Speaking of oddities.

According to the New York Times Dr. Howar Scher's wife used to work for a hedge fund called Warburg Pincus.

Mrs. Scher, a graduate of Haverford College who has an M.B.A. from Columbia University, is an associate in the venture-banking division of E. M. Warburg, Pincus & Company in New York.

After reading that his wife used to work for such a huge hedge fund that also runs UBS ( they are short on Dendreon as well) I started some cybersluething see if there was some connection between Brean Murray and Dr. Scher.

While I did not find a direct connection I found some things that made me say .... huh?

Mrs. Scher's employer ( or former employer) has a business relationship( or did in the past) with Brean Murray!

According to this S.E.C. document they are both listed as partners with Eclypsis Healthcare Company

">http://72.14.209.104/search?q=cache:7UM515ahlNwJ:www.secinfo.com/dsvRq.61g.8.htm+Brean+Murray+%2B+Warburg+Pincus&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=2>;

I also found it odd that Dr. Scher's hospital is a long time Eclypsis customer. . .

A long-time Eclipsys customer, Memorial Sloan-Kettering has successfully used Sunrise Clinical Manager in the ambulatory environment . . .


Who is Jay Petschek? He's the fellow in the picture with the blue tie. I am not sure if he is still employed by Murray but according to this SEC document he was at one time.UPDATE ACCORDING TO A 2007 SEC DOCUMENT PETSCHEK IS THE VICE PRESIDET OF BREAN MURRAY.

Brean Murray's Petschek is a director of Boyar Value Funds , the fund holds shares in a company called Automated Data Processing , Inc.

According to the New York Times Dr. Howard Scher's father in law is or was the Vice President of Automated Data Processing

Petschek also is director of a company called Dab-O-Matic. They make the containers for Drysol. The product called Dab-O- Matic Drysol™ is a topical treatment for hyperhidrosis. Hyperhidrosis is a side effect of patients undergoing systmatic chemotherapy. Sistematic chemotherapy therapy treatment causes the human body to sweat profusely . Scher's Taxatore is a drug employs sistematic chemotherapy.

Petschek is also director of Global Opportunity Partners Ltd( the guy gets around) . Global is listed here on this PDF file. Also listed on the PDF file is a Lafer Equities . Lafer Equities is a hedge fund. They are both located off shore in the Cayman Islands. According to Barrons Lafer Equities both shorts and holds stocks long.

Petchek from Brean Murray also has Corsair and the following companies

The names of the persons  filing this  statement  on Schedule  13G are:  Corsair
Capital Partners,  L.P. ("Corsair  Capital"),  Corsair Long Short International,
Ltd. ("Corsair International"), Corsair Select, L.P. ("Corsair Select"), Corsair
Capital Partners 100, L.P.  ("Corsair  100"),  Corsair Capital  Investors,  Ltd.
("Corsair   Investors"),    Corsair   Capital   Management,   L.L.C.   ("Corsair
Management"), Jay R. Petschek ("Mr. Petschek") and Steven Major ("Mr. Major" and
collectively, the "Reporting Persons").

I can not say I am 100 percent sure that Lafer Equities belongs to Dr. Howard Shers wife ...but according to this web page people who have worked at Warbug Pincus ( Mrs. Howard Sher's former employer ) were later hired by Lafer Equities.

Lafer Equities and offshore hedge fund is run by a Barry S. Lafer.According to this website Scher's mother and law and Barry S. Lafer make political donations from Wayne New Jersey.

http://www.newsmeat.com/fec/bystate_detail.php?st=NJ&last=lafer

http://www.newsmeat.com/fec/bystate_detail.php?st=NJ&last=lafer&first=barryJersey.

Lafer Equities, according to recent SEC filings , is heavily invested in many companies that have to do with cancer and chemotherapy treatment.

http://www.secinfo.com/d12kd8.ue.htm

Cancer insurance company, even a company that manufactures medicine to help with the side effects of chemotherapy treatments.

I am not making any conclusions here .... and it might amount to nothing....some people would say I am being a conspiracy theorist - but I think it important to look at all angles of a story.

However , that being said ,I do find myself asking. . .

Wouldn't it be sad if money , power , and greed were one of the reasons that people on Wall Street don't like Provenge? I think that would be very sad. What so terrible about the advancement of a science that does not use harmful toxic chemotherapy drugs? After all it comes down to saving human life. There is nothing more important than that.