Wyeth Pharmaceuticals (WYE) is one of the world's largest research-driven pharmaceutical and healthcare products companies. It focuses on the discovery, development, manufacturing and marketing of pharmaceuticals, vaccines, biotechnology products and non-prescription medicines.Wyeth's recent performance has been stunted due to the entry of generic Protonix in late 2007. EPS growth through 2009 will benefit from recently implemented productivity initiatives and share repurchases. Recent pipeline setbacks and generic competition will cause a drag on financial performance.The next wave of sustainable revenue growth will not come until 2012. We believe the current valuation is fair and rate the shares a Hold with a $42 price target.Jason Napodano, CFA contributed to this report.Read the full analyst report on WYE "WYE" Free Stock Analysis: Buy? Sell? Hold?Zacks Investment Research

In late 2002, an epidemic of severe acute respiratory syndrome SARS spread throughout the Guangdong Province of China. By 2003, the respiratory system and gastrointestinal tract disease had affected more than 8,000 and killed more than 900 people in 25 countries before it was brought under control.

Today, biopharmaceutical companies are making advances for the prevention and treatment of diseases such as SARS through extensive research and development and DNA vaccines. Studies show that DNA vaccines have the potential to achieve desired response more quickly and cost effectively than conventional vaccines.

Vical Incorporated (Nasdaq: VICL) researches and develops biopharmaceutical products based on its patented DNA delivery technologies with potential applications to fight infections diseases or cancer.

The company today announced that the results from a phase I clinical trial of a DNA vaccine for SARS showed that the vaccine was well-tolerated and was successful in neutralizing antibody and T-cell immune

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Drake Bennett at Boston.com penned an article on what a a href="http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2008/11/16/depression_2009_what_would_it_look_like/?page=full"new Depression/a would like to us. In it were some interesting thoughts, and from that, ideas for investments:br /br /blockquoteInstead of dusty farm families, the icon of a modern-day depression might be something as subtle as the flickering glow of millions of televisions glimpsed through living room windows, as the nation's unemployed sit at home filling their days with the cheapest form of distraction available./blockquotebr /a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_WWGUfU1tOjI/SSWAaJxoAiI/AAAAAAAAAlw/mFpMi4R0SxI/s1600-h/UTVNov20.png"img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 184px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_WWGUfU1tOjI/SSWAaJxoAiI/AAAAAAAAAlw/mFpMi4R0SxI/s320/UTVNov20.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5270760125696049698" //abr /a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_WWGUfU1tOjI/SSWDqkOei-I/AAAAAAAAAl4/1hWkksmJ53s/s1600-h/VIANov20.png"img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 184px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_WWGUfU1tOjI/SSWDqkOei-I/AAAAAAAAAl4/1hWkksmJ53s/s320/VIANov20.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5270763706209176546" //abr /span class="fullpost"blockquoteToday, a depression could reverse that process altogether. In a deep and sustained downturn, home prices would likely sink further and not rise, dimming the appeal of homeownership, a large part of suburbia's draw. Renting an apartment - perhaps in a city, where ...

As negative as I am, I am not on the bandwagon for a "Depression" - while I think unemployment is mightily understated by our government [Nov 7: October's Unemployment Rate Reaches "6.5%"] and probably will reach levels (in real terms, not government terms) that will be debilitating in the next 18 months, it is hard to take much credence in the 1930s figures because how accurate was "25% unemployment" then? Many women were also not in the work force so it is very hard to make comparisons. But the 2 keys on how bad this is going to be are (a) availability of credit and (b) availability of jobs. I do think there are some very serious structural changes that have been going on quietly under the surface that "good times" (i.e. cheap credit) of the past 7-10 years were ...

Goldman Sachs is adding Wyeth (NYSE:WYE) to their Conviction Buy list on the significant gap between the current share price and break-up value of $50.Wyeth’s strength in biologicals and vaccines and the lack of extreme patent exposure make it one of the most attractive fundamental stories in Pharma. These assets are underappreciated due to the overhang of WYE’s core Pharma business. Recent biotech price-tags reflect the industry’s willingness to pay a premium for these assets. Management has recently signaled a commitment to its growth assets, de-emphasizing primary care research. Firm's 12-month price target is $46, yielding 39% potential upside.Notablecalls: These things tend to move.

GenVec, Inc. reported today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved GenVec’s TNFerade™ for Fast Track development in the treatment of locally advanced pancreatic cancer. TNFerade™ is designed to stimulate the production of immune system proteins with anti-cancer properties that are injected into tumors. GenVec is developing TNFerade™ for use in combination with other tools such as radiation and chemotherapy for the treatment of various cancers.

TNFerade™ qualifies for Fast Track status because GenVec provided the FDA with evidence that TNFerade™ may have potential to improve the survival rate of patients suffering from pancreatic cancer. The FDA grants Fast Track designation to drugs that are designed to treat life-threatening conditions and that have a proven potential to address an unmet medical need.

Fast Track designation only applies to situations where a developmental stage drug is used to treat one specific

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Monogram Biosciences, Inc., a California based leader in molecular diagnostics for improving drug treatment of serious diseases, today announced presentations made by its scientists related to the company’s VeraTag™ assays. The presentations were made at the 20th EORTC-NCI-AACR Symposium on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics in Geneva, Switzerland.

The presentations dealt with what are called EGFR/HER receptors, known to be significant to the proliferation of many different cancers, such as breast cancer. The presentations were about Monogram’s developments in the field of assays used for detecting these receptors in cancerous tissues, information that is critical for associated drug development and treatment regimens. The first presentation outlined the development of sensitive and specific assays in fixed tumor cell lines. The second presentation described the validation of these assays as providing quantitative and accurate measurements in human tumor tissue.

William Young, Monogram CEO, said “HERmark™, our recently launched breast cancer assay, is bringing new

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Provectus Chairman and CEO, Craig Dees, Ph.D, first hosts a luncheon on Oct. 29, starting at Noon at the Hyatt Regency (151 E. Wacker Drive) in Chicago, Ill. Dees will then present twice in New York City. The first will be at the Wall Street Analyst Forum, from Nov. 17-19 at the University Club, 1 W 54th St. He will then present at the 12th Annual New York Society of Security Analysts (NYSSA) Biotechnology/ Specialty Pharmaceutical Industry Conference, Dec. 2-3 (location TBA).

“As Provectus continues to make significant strides in developing our oncological and dermatological therapies, we continue to strive to increase investor awareness and visibility of the company,” Dees said.

Dees has spent more than 20 years in senior management positions at Provectus Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; Photogen Technologies, Inc.; the Oak Ridge National Laboratory; LipoGen, Inc.; and TechAmerica, Inc. Dees was a founder, senior scientist and founding director of Photogen before Provectus

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Investors turn to the large drug company stocks for several reasons. They are considered recession proof, they are a play on the ageing of the baby boomers, and they are often considered safer and less volatile than most other stocks. Since dividends are so vital to many investors they days, the high yielding big pharmas are of interest. All of the following have yields over 2.5%, PE's below 20, and PEGs below 3.Pfizer Inc. (PFE) Its drugs include Lipitor, Norvasc Caduet, Chantix/Champix, Lyrica, Geodon/Zeldox, Aricept, Zoloft, Celebrex, Vfend, Zyvox, Viagra, Detrol, and Zyrtec, and for animals; Clavamox/Synulox, RespiSureOne/StellamuneOne, Bovi-Shield Gold, Dectomax, and Draxxin. The stock yields 7.5% It has a PE of 12.7 and a PEG of 2.12 .Bristol Myers Squibb Co. (BMY) Its drugs include PLAVIX, AVAPRO/AVALIDE, PRAVACHOL, COUMADIN, REYATAZ, SUSTIVA, BARACLUDE, ERBITUX, TAXOL, SPRYCEL, IXEMPRA, ABILIFY, ORENCIA, and EFFERALGAN. The ...

GenVec, Inc. (NASDAQ: GNVC) announced Thursday that it received a third year option of funding, as part of a five-year contract with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease. The company will receive up to $3.8 million to continue the development of new HIV vaccine candidates. GenVec’s research is based on its proprietary adenovirus vector and production cell line technologies.

“We appreciate NIAID’s decision to execute its renewal option under our contract,” said Dr. Rick King, GenVec’s senior vice president of research and development. “GenVec’s adenovector technology platform now includes six distinct serotypes that can be used singly or in combination.”

GenVec and the NIAID Vaccine Research Center have partnered on HIV vaccine development under a Collaborative Research and Development Agreement for several years. Under a separate contract, GenVec has produced adenovector-based HIV vaccines that have been tested in about 1,400 subjects in 16 NIAID-sponsored Phase I and Phase II clinical

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