The Cure for Cancer?

It is an exciting time to be in the field of cancer treatment as it appears that a cure for cancer could be just around the corner. According to an article from Seekibng Alpa, the biotechnology company Oncothyreon Inc.

ONTY

has developed an immunotherapy cancer vaccine that has reached

Phase III clinical trials

for non-small cell lung cancer. A Phase III clinical trial means that the drug was successful in it's first two small scale trials and is ready to move on to its final phase of testing on a larger scale. According to The Center for Pharmaceutical Research, about

ninety-percent of drugs that reach Phase III

go on to final evaluation by the FDA to seek approval for public use. Oncothyreon Inc.'s new MUC1-based cancer vaccine Stimuvax has shown positive results and has generated quite a buzz among the pharmaceutical world. The vaccine began its final testing of Phase III over two years ago in June of 2009. The results of Stimuvax's testing in Phase II were very encouraging. According to the Oncothyreon Inc.'s website, the immunotherapy vaccine was shown to more than

double the median

survival time of patients with non-small lung cancer. Reuters explains that Stimuvax and other immunotherapeutic cancer vaccines work by triggering a person's immune system to

identify and destroy

cancer cells in the body. Cancer vaccines of this kind are different than other traditional vaccines in that they are not used as a preventative measure, but rather to target cells only once cancer has been diagnosed. If Stimuvax works as it should, it could be used as a more effective treatment and possibly even cure for ill patients with lung cancer. Oncothyreon Inc.

ONTY

has been a publicly traded company on the NASDAQ since November 19, 1991. It is headquartered in Seattle, Washington and focuses on the development of oncology products and vaccines. Along with the companies success with Stimuvax, they have plans to begin testing on another cancer vaccine,

ONT-10

by late 2011. There are currently rumors circulating that the Stimuvax is seeing

positive results in Phase III of testing

similar to those found in Phase II. Though these rumors are unconfirmed, they have generated good feelings and lot of activity surrounding the stock. With the news of the likely success of the Stimuvax drug, Oncothyreon Inc. has seen more than a 10% increase in the value of their stock. ONTY opened at $9.95 today up from it's close yesterday at $8.84 per share. The stock has

surpased it's 52-week high

of $9.61 and continues to rise. The market cap for Oncothyreon Inc. is valued at $406.38 million showing a considerable increase in the past year. If Stimuvax does emerge successful from the Phase III trials, it can only mean more good news for Oncothyreon Inc. and their stock.

ACTION ITEMS:

Bullish:

Traders who believe that the rumors of Stimuvax's success in Phase III are true might consider the following trade:

Buying shares of Oncothyreon Inc. ONTY now could see major pay offs in the long run if the stock continues to increase.

Bearish:

Traders who believe that the rumors of Stimuvax's success in Phase III are false and that they have not found a treatment for cancer might consider the following trade:

Short selling the stock on the assumption that it's value will depreciate and then buying it later on cover.

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