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yea go with sharebuilder. Its only 4 dollars for a trade on tuesdays:thumbs:
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LJPC is finally getting some support @ .0550
You should chase that!
I'm gonna jump on it with ya, limit order set. :beer2:
La Jolla Drug Failure Leaves Few Options
In both comedy and licensing deals, timing is everything. Today, there was no hilarity attached to the announcement that a mere five weeks after signing a deal worth up to $289m with BioMarin Pharmaceutial (BMRN), La Jolla Pharmaceutical's (LJPC) lead drug Riquent had failed in phase III clinical trials.
An assessment of interim efficacy data from the Independent Data Monitoring Board concluded that it was "futile" to continue the study into the Lupus drug. News that the only product the group has in its pipeline had failed sent shares in La Jolla crashing down 86% in morning trading to a historic low of just 28 cents. BioMarin did not escape unscathed either with its shares falling 3% to $18.90.
The market's treatment of BioMarin, however, looks a little harsh, given that the biotech, which has cash reserves of $586m, had only committed $15m upfront, split into a $7.5m in cash and $7.5m equity investment. As such, what investors might have been punishing the group for was its judgement for licensing Riquent in the first place (La Jolla clinches crucial deal with BioMarin, January 07, 2009).
Poor form
Riquent, which is designed to prevent or delay renal flares in lupus patients, has not had the most illustrious development or regulatory career. It suffered its first setback in 1999 when Abbott Laboratories (ABT) terminated a development deal shortly after the drug failed to meet a primary endpoint in a phase II/III trial.
La Jolla bravely struggled on alone and filed an NDA four years later, only for the FDA to issue it with an approvable letter in 2004. In 2006 it submitted and then withdrew a European marketing application for Riquent.
Given that most of the problems associated with the drug had been unclear or inconclusive data, it was a brave judgement call on the part of BioMarin to license the drug. The company was most probably gambling on the fact that if the latest set of data had been positive it would have had to pay a lot more due to the paucity of effective treatments for lupus and its associated conditions.
Riquent had been forecast to have sales of $396m by 2014, generating an estimated $23m in royalties for La Jolla in the same year, according to consensus forecasts from EvaluatePharma. The product was also valued at $448m, according to EvaluatePharma's NPV analyzer, meaning that BioMarin had on the surface bagged a bargain.
Murky future
In a very brief statement La Jolla said that it would provide information on its "strategic direction in the near future". As Riquent was the only drug in the pipeline, this might be a very short thought process.
This latest setback is most probably one blow too far for La Jolla, which realistically has few options, other than to resurrect one of the suspended products in its pipeline.
The most obvious candidate would be LJP 1082, which La Jolla mothballed in March 2006 in an effort to conserve cash. The phase II drug is indicated in thrombosis, but given the already crowded market and the large amounts of money needed to do trials, it is debatable whether both the company and shareholders will have the stomach to go through another development cycle.
Failing a Lazarus-like rebirth of another candidate, the company might just decide to return what remaining cash there is to shareholders and shut up shop.
But even this might prove disappointing. At its last set of results in October, La Jolla reported cash levels of $26m, and burn rates of $14.1m. Assuming a similar level of burn, this might leave the company with $19.1m of cash, when BioMarin's $7.5m is added in, working out to about 35 cents per share of cash, which although 20% higher than the shares are trading at now, would be a poor return.Comment
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Stockwire.com: SIRIUS (NASDAQ: SIRI) just released some important news.
Feb 25, 2009 (M2 PRESSWIRE via COMTEX) -- SIRIUS (NASDAQ: SIRI), just announced SIRIUS Satellite Radio Canada and Live Nation Canada Sign Exclusive Partnership.
TORONTO -- SIRIUS (NASDAQ: SIRI) Canada, the country's leading satellite radio company, and Live Nation today announced a new partnership, which sees SIRIUS Canada become the official satellite radio partner of Live Nation in Canada.
The comprehensive partnership gives SIRIUS listeners access to exclusive live broadcasts featuring Canadian artists and preferred tickets for Live Nation events. SIRIUS subscribers will be able to purchase tickets for select events through the SIRIUS Satellite Radio Canada Web site from a reserved block of tickets.
"SIRIUS listeners are passionate about music and the Live Nation partnership will give subscribers more of what they love, including exclusive concert broadcasts and preferred access to concert tickets," said Alan MacNevin, Vice President of Customer Relationship Management at SIRIUS Canada. "Customers tell us that subscribing to SIRIUS feels like being part of a community and we're committed to making that experience even richer." The partnership will allow SIRIUS listeners across Canada and the U.S. to access exclusive live broadcasts featuring some of Canada's most talented emerging and established artists. The monthly "SIRIUS Satellite Radio Canadian Concert Series Powered by Live Nation" broadcasts will give Canadian artists a powerful platform to reach new audiences in both Canada and the U.S. on Iceberg 85, SIRIUS Satellite Radio's 100% Canadian rock channel.
"We're excited to announce this partnership with SIRIUS Canada," said Bret Gallagher, President, Live Nation Canada. "We look forward to helping Canadian artists reach new fans on both sides of the border through exclusive broadcasts for SIRIUS subscribers." LIGHTS to Kick-off New Concert Series and Live Broadcast Toronto indie-electro artist LIGHTS will kick-off the SIRIUS Satellite Radio Canadian Concert Series with an exclusive broadcast of her recent concert recorded live from Toronto's Phoenix Concert Theatre. The concert will air on SIRIUS' Iceberg 85 channel on Sunday, March 1 at 7pm ET.
"Satellite radio offers an incredible stage for Canada's musical talent," said Andreanne Sasseville, Director of Canadian Content Development and Industry Relations at SIRIUS Canada Inc. "SIRIUS Canada's new concert series with Live Nation gives Canadian artists even more opportunities to grow their audience both in Canada and the U.S." About SIRIUS Canada SIRIUS is Canada's number one choice for satellite radio with 120 full-time channels broadcast from studios in Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal and New York. SIRIUS offers 100% commercial-free music plus premium sports, news, talk and entertainment programming from North America's most recognizable and respected personalities and brands. SIRIUS offers listeners unparalleled coast-to-coast signal coverage and digital quality sound broadcast from three high-orbit satellites.
SIRIUS is the Official Satellite Radio Partner of the CFL, NFL, NASCAR and NLL and broadcasts live play-by-play games of the CFL, NFL and NLL. SIRIUS is also the exclusive satellite radio home of CBC's Hockey Night in Canada Radio. In addition, SIRIUS broadcasts live NASCAR races, the Wimbledon Tennis Championships as well as Barclays English Premier League and UEFA Champions League soccer.
SIRIUS products for the car, truck, home, RV and boat are available in more than 3,500 retail locations, including Best Buy, Canadian Tire, Centre Hi-Fi, Costco, Dumoulin, Future Shop, Home Hardware, London Drugs, Staples, The Source By Circuit City, Visions, Wal-Mart and 2001 Audio Video. All SIRIUS programming is available for a monthly subscription fee of only $14.99.
SIRIUS Canada's automotive partners include Aston Martin, Audi, Bentley, BMW, Chrysler, Dodge, Ford, Jaguar, Jeep, Land Rover, Lexus, Lincoln, Mazda, Mercedes Benz, MINI, Mitsubishi, Pana-Pacific, Subaru, Toyota, Volkswagen, Volvo and the Canadian Automobile Association (CAA). SIRIUS automotive partners make up nearly 60 per cent of light vehicle sales in Canada.Comment
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**ALL PLAYS ARE TO WIN 1UNIT UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED**Comment
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Time To Get: HAYES LEMMERZ INTERNATIONAL
10k buy: HAYZ @.03
:beer2:Comment
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Liberty Media Closes Investment in SIRIUS XM Radio
SIRIUS XM and Lenders Agree to Extend Outstanding Loans Due in May
NEW YORK, March 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- SIRIUS XM Radio Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) and Liberty Media Corporation (NASDAQ:LINTANASDAQ:LINTBNASDAQ:LCAPANASDAQ:LCAPBN ASDAQ: LMDIANASDAQ:LMDIB) today announced the closing of the second, and final, phase of the previously announced investment by Liberty in SIRIUS XM.
Mel Karmazin, Chief Executive Officer of SIRIUS XM Radio, said, "We are excited to have closed the second and final phase of our investment agreement with Liberty Media. It is an example of the confidence our lenders and Liberty have in our business model. These transactions resolve all of the uncertainty surrounding the company's and its subsidiaries' debt maturing in 2009. Having addressed our near-term financial obligations, we remain focused on continuing to deliver on all the promise of the merger of SIRIUS and XM -- a more efficient company offering the best programming through new packages to more subscribers."
"We are pleased to have completed the second phase of this investment," said Greg Maffei, president and CEO of Liberty. "This closing allows Liberty to align itself with one of the most exciting companies in media today."
SIRIUS XM also announced that XM Satellite Radio, a wholly owned subsidiary of SIRIUS XM, amended and extended its existing $350 million credit facilities. XM Satellite Radio's existing term loan and revolving loan have been rolled into a single term loan facility. As previously agreed, Liberty has purchased $100 million aggregate principal amount from the lenders.
Liberty has committed to loan an additional $150 million to XM Satellite Radio, to be used to repay a portion of the outstanding principal amount of 10% Convertible Notes due December 1, 2009 of XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc.
Under the existing terms of their agreement, SIRIUS XM has issued Liberty an aggregate of 12.5 million shares of new preferred stock convertible into 40% of the common stock of SIRIUS XM.
J.P. Morgan Securities acted as financial advisor to SIRIUS XM in connection with the transactions. UBS and Lazard Freres & Co. LLC acted as financial advisor to Liberty Media Corporation.
Important additional information regarding this investment and the terms of the amended credit facilities will be available in a Current Report on Form 8-K which SIRIUS XM expects to file with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
About SIRIUS XM Radio
SIRIUS XM Radio is America's satellite radio company delivering commercial-free music channels, premier sports, news, talk, entertainment, traffic and weather, to more than 18.9 million subscribers.
SIRIUS XM Radio has content relationships with an array of personalities and artists, including Howard Stern, Martha Stewart, Oprah Winfrey, Jimmy Buffett, Jamie Foxx, Barbara Walters, Opie & Anthony, Bubba the Love Sponge(R), The Grateful Dead, Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, and Bob Edwards. SIRIUS XM Radio is the leader in sports programming as the Official Satellite Radio Partner of the NFL, Major League Baseball(R), NASCAR(R), NBA, NHL(R), and PGA TOUR(R), and broadcasts major college sports.
SIRIUS XM Radio has arrangements with every major automaker. SIRIUS XM Radio products are available at shop.sirius.com and shop.xmradio.com, and at retail locations nationwide, including Best Buy, RadioShack, Target, Sam's Club, and Wal-Mart. SIRIUS XM Radio also offers SIRIUS Backseat TV, the first ever live in-vehicle rear seat entertainment featuring Nickelodeon, Disney Channel and Cartoon Network; XM NavTraffic(R) service for GPS navigation systems delivers real-time traffic information, including accidents and road construction, for more than 80 North American markets.
About Liberty Media Corporation
Liberty Media Corporation owns interests in electronic retailing, media, communications and entertainment businesses. Those interests are attributed to three tracking stock groups: (1) the Liberty Interactive group, which includes Liberty's interests in QVC, Provide Commerce, Backcountry.com, BUYSEASONS, Bodybuilding.com, IAC/InterActiveCorp, and Expedia, (2) the Liberty Entertainment group, which includes Liberty's interests in The DIRECTV Group, Inc., Starz Entertainment, FUN Technologies, Inc., GSN, LLC, WildBlue Communications, Inc., and Liberty Sports Holdings LLC, and (3) the Liberty Capital group, which includes all businesses, assets and liabilities not attributed to the Interactive group or the Entertainment group including its subsidiaries Starz Media, LLC, Atlanta National League Baseball Club, Inc., and TruePosition, Inc., and minority equity investments in Time Warner Inc. and Sprint Nextel Corporation.
:beer2:Comment
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3/10/09 WTF buy;
FLTW 10k @ .007:beer2:
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Hopefully they will be giving out some good news today :boom:
"CASTLE ROCK, CO--(MARKET WIRE)--Mar 12, 2009 -- AspenBio Pharma, Inc. (NasdaqCM:APPY - News), an emerging bio-pharmaceutical company dedicated to the development of novel drugs and diagnostics for humans and animals, announced the company will hold a conference call today, March 12, 2009 at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time, to discuss updates, developments and plans for its AppyScore FDA 510 (k) registration. The call will be followed by a question and answer period. The call will be hosted by Daryl Faulkner, the company's chief executive officer; Dr. Robert Caspari, the COO and chief medical officer and Dr. Mark Colgin, the company's chief scientific officer.
Parties who are interested in hearing the call are asked to dial into the conference telephone number 5-10 minutes prior to the start time:
U.S./Canada: 800-895-0231
International: 785-424-1054
An operator will register your name and organization and ask you to wait until the call begins. If you have any difficulty connecting with the conference call, please contact the Liolios Group at 949-574-3860.
An audio replay of the call will be available for seven days following the call:
U.S./Canada: 800-723-0479
International: 402-220-2650"
Already up to $1.81 (13.21%) on the day :beerbang:**ALL PLAYS ARE TO WIN 1UNIT UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED**Comment
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Nice :beerbang:
Sirius XM Radio to Stream to iPhone, iPod
AP | 12 Mar 2009 | 11:43 AM ET
Financially struggling Sirius XM Radio is planning to stream its subscription radio service to the iPhone and iPod Touch devices from Apple [AAPL 95.06 2.38 (+2.57%) ] beginning this spring.
After narrowly avoiding a filing for bankruptcy protection last month, the nation's only satellite radio provider wants to step up sales directly to consumers. New car purchases—which had been Sirius' best source of customers—are way down.
Sirius XM [SIRI 0.1894 0.0294 (+18.38%) ], whose shares jumped more than 8 percent Thursday, also said in a call to discuss its fourth-quarter earnings that it's ramping up efforts to reach buyers of used cars with factory-installed satellite radios.
"We're testing a number of initiatives to make Sirius content more ubiquitous," said Mel Karmazin, chief executive of New York-based Sirius.
Sirius now has 19 million subscribers, up 10 percent from a year earlier.
By streaming its music, sports and talk channels to users of the iPhone and iPod Touch, Sirius can give its existing subscribers another way to access content and let new customers sign up without buying new radios, Karmazin said.
Sirius also sees opportunities to bundle its satellite radio service with TV packages from DirecTV Group [DTV 20.55 0.49 (+2.44%) ]. DirecTV's controlling shareholder is Liberty Media [LCAPA 4.8704 0.0304 (+0.63%) ], which rescued Sirius from a debt bind last month with a $530 million investment.
Karmazin said he has met with DirecTV CEO Chase Carey and Liberty CEO Greg Maffei over the past few days.
"It behooves us to consider every possible way to grow our subscriber base," Karmazin said.
He said several parties were interested in investing in Sirius, but the company's "complex" balance sheet and the liquidity crisis scared many away. Sirius faced $1 billion in debt that was coming due in 2009 that the company couldn't repay and was having trouble refinancing.
One person that stepped up was Dish Network CEO Charlie Ergen, who bought a substantial amount of Sirius debt to wrestle for control of the company. Karmazin rebuffed him, turning instead to an Ergen rival, Liberty's Chairman John Malone.
Liberty extended loans to Sirius at 15 percent interest and took a 40 percent stake in the satellite radio company. Karmazin defended that expensive decision, noting that General Electric [GE 9.49 1.00 (+11.78%) ] and Goldman Sachs [GS 93.74 1.35 (+1.46%) ] had recently raised money at 10 percent interest.
"Relative to them, 15 percent was required," Karmazin said.
On Tuesday, Sirius reported a fourth-quarter loss of $248.5 million, better than a loss of $405 million in the year-earlier quarter. Sales climbed to $644.1 million from $577.5 million a year earlier. Those results were adjusted to assume that Sirius' July 2008 purchase of XM occurred on Jan. 1, 2007, to enable year-over-year comparisons.
Expectations that it would need to file for bankruptcy protection hurt the company, as did the liquidation of Circuit City Stores and poor fourth-quarter traffic at other stores where Sirius radios are sold.
In the call Thursday, Sirius said it will stop providing revenue and subscriber guidance because of poor visibility into the state of the economy and auto sales.
However, the company expects to report earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of over $300 million in 2009, in line with previous projections. Additional aggressive cost cuts will help the bottom line as Sirius shores up revenue.
"We expect to see this turnaround continue in 2009 and beyond," Karmazin said.
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Top 5 Priorities for Sirius XM in 2009 - SiriusBuzz
March 12, 2009 (12:14 pm) Newman
With the 2009 debt taken care of, I have started to look towards the future. What I see is not very encouraging. Circumstances have most certainly been stacked against Mel and Co. with an unprecedented 18 month merger process and now well within the grips of the credit crisis, but that is no excuse for the company to remain stagnant. After all, a company that is not growing is dying. Sirius XM may not be dying, but it is certainly broken at this time. There are things that could be done with little to no costs to the company which could do a lot towards the image of Sirius XM, as well as potentially draw revenue. Why are they not being done?
#1 Create a Decent Web Player/Interface
As others have mentioned, the Sirius XM web interface is archaic and buggy. There is no unified website yet other than a generic front page which makes you choose between Sirius and XM. The different websites are virtually identical, with many of the links on the XM website pointing to the Sirius site (such as the investor relations link). Why not come up with a unified website to remove much of the confusion regarding the merger? It has been over 6 months, and still nothing? Now subscribers have to deal with a price hike for the online feeds? Give us something to justify the price hike.
#2 Get into other technologies!
I find it absurd that Sirius XM has not developed an iPhone app yet (though there are confirmed rumors that something will be released soon). As both a subscriber and investor, I have been looking forward to this app for a LONG time. StarPlayr has a nice app that is in Beta for the iPhone right now (though their application was recently denied), but why has it taken so long (and with no official announcement) for Sirius XM to act? Why isn’t Sirius XM trying to monetize this idea themselves? They are in a credit crisis after all, right? The app will be free, but will they include a download button where the user can download the song that they are listening to, which also gives a cut to Sirius XM? It is a no-brainer win/win for Sirius XM, the consumer and even Apple. Why isn’t it here? If there is a reason that it is not out, let us know. What about getting into Xbox? Roku? GPS units?
#3 Develop a demand for the product
Sirius XM does not have any “cool” factor. How many people have said “wow, is that an iPhone?” I have heard that quite a few times. How many have ever said “Wow, is that XM?” Never heard it myself. Sirius XM needs to brand itself much better. What about something as simple as bumper stickers, showing that you are a loyal listener to Sirius XM radio? Give one or two to each person when they buy a new vehicle to make them more aware (and curious) about Sirius XM. Mail out a couple to all of the current subscribers. Every single person driving down the road will see Sirius XM bumper stickers. Initially, it will not mean anything, but what happens when 10% or 20% of the cars out there have a Sirius XM Bumper sticker? People will be curious about the product.
What about community? There is more community here on SiriusBuzz than there is over the entire Sirius XM network. Why do individual program directors and DJs have to have MySpace, Twitter, and Face Book pages? Sirius XM needs to develop a community within their own website as added value for existing subscribers and to raise awareness to those potential subscribers.
#4 Capitalize on the bandwidth.
With the channel revisions and some recent cuts made, there is enough bandwidth to add 5 channels on each service (one country, one rock, one alternative, etc) which the company could broadcast to EVERY radio out there (even non-subscribers) which they could monetize using commercial advertising so that people can get a taste of the programming available on Sirius XM. Once each commercial break, air a commercial stating that all of these commercials could be eliminated by subscribing to the service for as low as $4.99 per month. The technology already exists to allow these channels to nonsubscribers (remember the hurricane channels that they made available to all radios?). Perhaps this could even be the launching platform for ideas that are being thought about for the subscriber base, or perhaps you could even bring back a few of the channels that were canceled in the recent channel change as a commercial-based broadcast. I have always said that once you try the product, you will be hooked for life.
#5 Start the Media Blitz NOW.
Slacker and Pandora are announcing various advancements on an almost weekly basis. People actually pay attention to this kind of stuff, especially techies who like new gadgets. The only thing anyone ever hears about Satellite Radio is how it is doing so horribly and is going bankrupt because of falling subscribers and insurmountable debt. We all know how crooked the media is, but it is all about perception. This virtual silence is killing the investors and not doing a damn thing to change the image of the company that customers see.
XM once solicited for user generated commercials but I never saw one on TV. Do it again and offer a lifetime subscription as the prize. Upgrade/refresh auto dealer’s displays of the SatRad. Give up some cash to move the displays at Best Buy from the car audio section (generally in the back of the store where no one goes) to up front near the iPods and MP3 players. GET INTO THE PUBLIC VIEW.
All of these are things that the company could be doing right now, with little or no financial strain (other than the advertising part). They all seem like such common sense steps yet, they are not being done. While Sirius XM has the potential to be a true powerhouse in the not-so-distant future, the company is broken right now. Are they willing to take the necessary steps to help themselves? Only time will tell.
Position: Long Sirius XMComment
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3/12/09
SIRI Close Price: .1914
.0314 (+19.62%)
Highest Close Price Since 11/28/08
2/11/09 Close Price: .0550 :beer2:
SIRI Extended Hours Close: .20
After Hours Change0.01 (+5.26%)
Last edited by homedawg; 03-12-2009, 07:23 PM.Comment
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AspenBio Pharma to Proceed With FDA 510(k) Application for AppyScore(TM)
"CASTLE ROCK, CO--(MARKET WIRE)--Mar 12, 2009 -- AspenBio Pharma, Inc. (NasdaqCM:APPY - News), an emerging bio-pharmaceutical company dedicated to the development of novel drugs and diagnostics for humans and animals, today reported additional information and planned next steps for advancing its AppyScore(TM) product through the Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") application and clearance process following the recently completed pivotal clinical trial. AppyScore(TM) is the world's first blood-based test being developed as an aid in the diagnosis of human appendicitis. Based upon the assessment to date, the following key points are made:
-- The company confirms its plan to file a 510(k) with the FDA to seek
clearance of the AppyScore ELISA product used in the pivotal trial as soon
as the extensive filing application can be completed and reviewed by the
Company's regulatory advisors.
-- AspenBio expects that the product indication will be as an, "Aid in
the Diagnosis of Appendicitis," to be used in conjunction with other
physical and laboratory tests.
-- The clinical trial data analysis supports that the AppyScore analyte
MRP8/14, provides valuable clinical information in the diagnosis of
patients with lower right quadrant abdominal pain.
-- AspenBio believes that the AppyScore test, upon commercialization,
will have a sensitivity and negative predictive value of greater than 90%.
-- Data from the pivotal trial also demonstrated that when the AppyScore
is interpreted in combination with other commonly used indicators, such as
white blood count (WBC), the sensitivity and negative predictive value will
be higher.
In order to analyze the trial data and best determine the appropriate next steps the Company has engaged the assistance of an additional highly experienced FDA consulting group, Becker & Associates Consulting, Inc. Becker & Associates has extensive expertise in medical devices, including in vitro diagnostic devices. The Becker team's lead consultant working with AspenBio is a 24 year veteran of the FDA, including serving as Deputy Director for Science and Regulatory Policy in FDA's Center for Devices and Radiological Health's Office of Device Evaluation (ODE).
The preliminary data as disclosed on January 20, 2009 has been further studied and the findings of the study can now be clarified. This pivotal study included an unexpected number of patients who presented with mild appendicitis when compared to peer reviewed published literature statistics. This was especially prevalent at one of the hospital sites which enrolled the largest number of patients in the study. While these factors reduced the sensitivity of the test in this study population (as one might expect for a marker related to disease progression), it has been concluded that the trial results are statistically valid and supportable and favorably demonstrate the linear relationship between the AppyScore level and pathologically proven appendicitis in patients with acute abdominal pain.
Daryl Faulkner, executive chairman of AspenBio, noted: "In making this decision to proceed we have analyzed an extensive amount of data from numerous perspectives over the past weeks and retested several key elements of the product and its performance aspects and remain convinced that AppyScore, in conjunction with other standard diagnostic approaches, can and will provide the physician with an important new tool to aid in the diagnosis of appendicitis. While the path to file the AppyScore 510(k) with the FDA for clearance has been determined, there can be no assurance that such clearance will be obtained nor the timeline. Additionally, prior to such clearance, the FDA may request additional information and / or clarification of data. The company, in consultation with its FDA advisors, believes that the 510(k) application may be determined by the FDA to be a de novo product submission allowing the application to proceed even if a predicate device is not available. If this happens, we believe there may be benefits to this determination, which could include future flexibility to introduce product upgrades."
The company's commercialization plan to maximize the value and effectiveness of the AppyScore product is to advance the FDA 510(k) clearance process based upon the recent trial data and simultaneously complete development and testing of the rapid assay with reader instrument. This reader instrument is in late prototype development and has many features and benefits over the current ELISA test. Such benefits include rapid results in 15 minutes or less, a fully integrated stand alone assay system that significantly reduces operator dependence and a design to interface with the hospital's LIS system. We are presently estimating that clinical trials of this rapid assay with reader instrument device will commence as soon as development is complete. These trials will be designed to support the 510(k) application for this platform, as well as to provide physicians with additional information on the utility of this product.
AspenBio Patent Issuance
AspenBio also announced that on March 10, 2009, the United States Patent and Trademark Office issued AspenBio's patent directed to methods relating to its appendicitis diagnostic technology. This patent, No. 7,501,256, is entitled 'Methods and Devices for Diagnosis of Appendicitis.'
This seems like pretty good news to me, hopefully it can get this thing moving :beerbang:**ALL PLAYS ARE TO WIN 1UNIT UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED**Comment
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March 16, 2009
SIRI Close: $0.2350
Change: ▲0.037 (18.69%)
Day's Range:
0.20 - 0.25
Volume:
92,402,874
Mel Karmazin fights to rescue Sirius
A lifeline from Liberty Media pulled his satellite radio company back from the brink. Now the CEO has to prove that the business model can still work.
March 16, 2009: 3:13 PM ET
(Fortune Magazine) -- "I really don't mind everybody second-guessing," Sirius XM CEO Mel Karmazin tells me, though his tone screams otherwise.
Karmazin and I are chatting at Sirius XM's Midtown Manhattan headquarters, in a conference room just up the stairs from the studio where Howard Stern broadcasts his daily radio show for Sirius. The topic is the eleventh-hour deal Karmazin has just struck withLiberty Media (LINTA) to keep Sirius XM - the progeny of last year's ballyhooed satellite-radio merger - on the air and out of bankruptcy court. During the interview, Karmazin's mood swings from frustration (with some of the shots he's taken in the financial press) to relief (at being able to refinance at all) to optimism (about a company whose future seemed extremely shaky just weeks ago).
This is Karmazin's first interview since the Liberty deal provided Sirius XM (SIRI) with a $530 million lifeline, albeit an expensive one. Back when he was running the show at Infinity Broadcasting and later at CBS (CBS, Fortune 500) - and even when he was sparring with Sumner Redstone as the No. 2 at Viacom (VIA) - Karmazin was always a Wall Street favorite. But his reputation has taken some hits during his four-plus years as CEO of Sirius and now Sirius XM. He has presided over a 98% decline in Sirius XM's stock price (now 20 a share). Even more damning to some, he entered 2009 with $995 million in maturing debt and no way to repay it.
The Wall Street Journal, for example, scolded him for not refinancing Sirius XM's debt last summer when he had the chance - while the high-yield bond market was still functioning. Asked about that, Karmazin retrieves from his office a stack of presentations from five different banks with which he was discussing new debt deals. "We'd started the process," Karmazin says, noting that there was nothing he could do before the merger closed on July 28. "But once Sept. 15 happened" - a reference to the failure of Lehman Brothers and the chaos that ensued - "the markets just froze."
The griping continued even after the Liberty deal was unveiled. Karmazin was criticized for giving up too much - Liberty snagged 40% of Sirius's stock, as well as a 15% interest rate on $530 million in secured loans (the real rate is closer to 16% after factoring in the $30 million restructuring fee Sirius XM is paying Liberty). He was accused of giving short shrift to an alternative offer from satellite-TV mogul Charlie Ergen, CEO of EchoStar (SATS) and Dish Network. For instance, Henry Blodget, the disgraced dotcom analyst turned financial pundit, questioned whether Karmazin had stiff-armed Ergen just to settle an old score or to keep his own job. "I thought that was really cool," Karmazin now says, his sarcasm overflowing.
For the record, while Karmazin and Ergen have tangled in the past - specifically over how much EchoStar and Dish would pay for Viacom cable channels such as MTV and Nickelodeon - both men insist that there was nothing personal about their negotiations. Still, Karmazin admits that he wasn't exactly thrilled when EchoStar bought up $170 million in Sirius XM debt maturing in February just as Sirius XM was nearing an agreement with bondholders on an extension.
Sirius XM would hardly be the first troubled company to get a financial lifeline and still wind up in Chapter 11. And based on the company's 20-cent stock price, Wall Street isn't betting on a happy outcome. "Sirius was like a patient that was having a massive heart attack," says David Bank, a media industry analyst with RBC Capital Markets. "This got its heart restarted, though it's not yet out of the danger zone."
The market's skepticism is understandable. Over the years Sirius and XM have been absolute horror shows for investors. The duo rang up $3 billion in debt, tallied cumulative operating losses in excess of nearly $10 billion, and since 2004 lost shareholders a combined $15 billion in stock market capitalization. As recently as March 2 - before all the i's were dotted on the Liberty deal - Sirius XM issued an ominous warning. Explaining the reasons it would be late filing its 2008 annual report, the company said it had not yet completed "its evaluation as to whether substantial doubt exists relative to the company's ability to continue as a going concern."
In spite of all that doom and gloom, Karmazin insists that having averted its credit crisis, the company is actually on the verge of living up to its early promise of doing for radio what satellite TV did for television. (Besides the Liberty deal, Sirius XM reached extension agreements on some $400 million of debt coming due in 2009.)
"This is a company with very high fixed costs," Karmazin explains. "Before you get your first subscriber, you've had to launch satellites, put an infrastructure into place, and get content. You have all of these expenses upfront before you get a single dollar of revenue." However, once subscriber numbers reach a certain level, the dollars start cascading to the bottom line. "That," he says, "occurs this year."
The number of paid subscribers at Sirius and XM has climbed from 1.5 million in 2003 to 19 million at the end of 2008. Whether it's Howard Stern spilling raunch or Bob Dylan spinning records, Sirius XM's programming does seem to have found a large and diverse audience among audiophiles, sports fans, news junkies, and others willing to pay $13 a month for better variety, a clearer signal, and commercial-free music.
About half of all new cars are now equipped with satellite radio - Karmazin's goal is 70% - and the conversion rate of three-month trials into paying subscriptions has been just shy of 50%. Plus, once consumers sign up for Sirius or XM, they tend to get hooked: The churn rate last year was a mere 1.8%. "It's a very sticky, good product," says Bank.
In the fourth quarter of 2008, a devastating one for most companies, Sirius XM recorded its first operating profit ever (measured by Ebitda, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization), as well as its first significant slug of free cash flow. Operating profit, which, like free cash flow, is a barometer of how much money is moving in and out of company coffers, was $32 million in the fourth quarter, vs. the equivalent of a $224 operating loss in 2007 (which was pre-merger). Free cash flow stood at $29 million, vs. $5 million. The company's net loss narrowed to $249 million from $405 million.
Within a few years Sirius XM won't just be profitable, Karmazin insists, "but very profitable." In an SEC filing from last December, Sirius XM said it expected operating earnings to rise from $300 million this year to $1.3 billion in 2012. (Wow!) Asked about that guidance, Karmazin says, "Nothing has changed." After our interview, however, Sirius XM announced that it is suspending guidance beyond 2009, citing the weak economy and cratering new-car sales. (Uh-oh.)
While it's easy to be skeptical about Karmazin's rosy outlook, he argues that Sirius XM never would have been able to sidestep bankruptcy if its underlying business weren't attractive and the cost savings from the merger - now $425 million a year - weren't significant. "Liberty has spent a lot of time under the hood of the company," Karmazin says. "They've looked at the company. They sort of liked what they saw."
The operative phrase may be "sort of." In an interview with Fortune, Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei makes it clear that Liberty's investment in Sirius XM is more opportunistic than strategic. "This is a high-risk time for this company, given its leverage and some of the challenges both in the financial markets and the car markets," says Maffei. "We have confidence they'll work it through, but it's got risk, and that's why we went in as a senior lender."
In other words, Liberty would not have been so willing to put a half-billion dollars into Sirius XM were it not for the somewhat usurious terms and the fact that its loan is secured by hard assets such as Sirius XM's satellites and broadcast spectrum rights. "As a senior lender, do we think that one of the assets that's attractive is the spectrum they have?" Maffei asks, sounding like someone who has considered every outcome. "Absolutely."
That's not to say Maffei doesn't want Sirius XM to succeed. As a 40% shareholder, Liberty will profit mightily if it does. Were Sirius XM stock to rebound only to $1 a share, Liberty would turn a 100% profit, totally apart from any interest or principal payments on the $530 million loan. Maffei is just being realistic about the challenges Sirius faces during a period of declining new-car sales (which are key to growing the subscriber base) and rising consumer interest in competing technologies.
Indeed, Martine Rothblatt, the entrepreneur who founded Sirius back in 1990 and is currently the CEO of biotech company United Therapeutics, thinks Sirius XM's entire business model has become dated. "There has been a huge growth in terrestrial alternatives," says Rothblatt, who was known as Martin Rothblatt before undergoing a sex-change operation in 1994. "As we move from third-generation to fourth-generation cellular, there's going to be ever more bandwidth available to distribute content totally via terrestrial cellular infrastructure. And that will leave fewer and fewer unique market attributes to satellite radio."
Basically, Rothblatt is envisioning a future in which free Internet radio services like Pandora, AOL Radio, and iTunes Radio are ubiquitous on car sound systems and cellphones. Internet radio would become the second new technology to undermine the market for satellite radio - iPods and MP3 players were the first - and Rothblatt doubts that satellite can compete with free services that offer thousands of stations, vs. 150 for Sirius and XM. "Technologies have their ideal times and places, and in my opinion the better time for satellite radio was 10 years ago," says Rothblatt, who thinks Sirius - which didn't begin broadcasting until 2002 - would have hit this sweet spot were it not for FCC red tape that delayed its launch.
Karmazin doesn't dismiss the threat posed by Internet radio. In fact, Sirius XM is about to join Pandora and AOL Radio in offering its own Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) iPhone application, thereby allowing iPhone users to stream Sirius or XM via 3G wireless. Still, he's dubious that computer-generated song playlists can compete with Howard Stern or Bob Dylan. "I'm starting at a premise that says radio is not just recorded music - radio is discovery of new music," he says. "Some people would like to be able to hear songs they haven't heard before and that are not on their iPod. Some want to listen to CNN or Howard Stern, and not just to music. That's why we have a laserlike focus on getting content - because we think that content is what wins."
Given the paucity of revenue that Internet radio is producing right now - the entire industry generated $74 million last year, according to AccuStream iMedia Research, as compared to $2.4 billion for Sirius XM - it's hard to imagine how Internet radio could compete for a shock jock like Howard Stern (whom Sirius is paying $100 million a year) or for the rights to broadcast every Major League Baseball game (rights that XM is paying nearly $60 million a year for).
Plus, one of the benefits of the Sirius/XM merger - aside from the cost savings - is that several years from now, once all Sirius and XM customers are on the same system, half of Sirius XM's spectrum will be freed for other uses. The company already sells some premium content - Sirius customers can now pay an extra $4 a month to access the best XM channels, and vice versa - but Karmazin envisions a wider menu of premium radio content down the road. Maybe people "will want to get the superduper Howard Stern channel," he says.
Premium content wouldn't necessarily be limited to audio. Sirius XM currently offers a three-channel Backseat TV service for select Chrysler and Jeep SUVs. (For an extra $7 a month, Sirius subscribers can get mobile feeds of the Disney Channel, Nickelodeon, and the Cartoon Network.) If Sirius XM wanted to launch more video channels, it would probably have a willing partner in Liberty Media, which owns half of DirecTV as well as several cable networks, including QVC and Starz.
During Liberty's fourth-quarter conference call with analysts, Maffei spoke excitedly of the possibility of turning Sirius XM's excess spectrum into a mobile video platform for DirecTV: "The great dream, perhaps, is that you have ... 150 audio channels on one consolidated Sirius XM platform that only consumed [half] of the spectrum, and [the other half] becomes therefore available for mobile video. That would be a great intersection of where the skills of Sirius XM and DirecTV reside."
Asked about Maffei's musings, Karmazin doesn't want to be pinned down. "We could also have 130 more audio channels," Karmazin says. "We could go to Wal-Mart (WMT, Fortune 500) and say, 'Hey, Wal-Mart, how would you like to have a channel that's just for you?' We could say, 'Hey, Mormon Church. How would you like to have a channel?'
"There's just a lot of opportunities, and it's so refreshing to finally be able to think about them. Because for the last three months, all I've been thinking about is liquidity, liquidity, liquidity.
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