Adeona Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (AMEX:AEN)

I figured we'd have to wait until the Trimesta phase II trial drew close to completion before seeing Adeona rise from the Zinthionein ashes, but the company surprised me by pulling out yet another moonshot drug candidate. As if first-in-class drugs for Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis, and fibromyalgia weren't enough, the company has now announced a farfetched partnership with Intrexon to develop gene therapy for pulmonary artery hypertension. Not bad for a company with a 15M market cap at the time of the announcement and 7M in the bank.

Needless to say, Adeona doesn't have a chance in Hell of bringing this highly speculative partnership to fruition. But they have managed to pump enough air back into their stock to make the inevitable upcoming dilutive financing much more rewarding.

I have to respectfully disagree with zz below. Zinth is definitely not a cure for Alzheimer's, and it is not advertised as such. It is a prescription medical food meant to slow cognitive degradation seen in Alzheimer's and similar diseases. The hypothesis is that since there is a significant correlation between zinc deficiency and degradation of cognitive function, taking zinc supplements may slow cognitive deterioration. Zinth is comprised of zinc and cysteine, and both components are generally regarded as safe, which reduces the number of hurdles Adeona has to overcome to get it to market. Zinth's differentiation from standard zinc supplements is its ease of digestion, whereas common zinc supplements commonly have side effects of indigestion, nausea, and heartburn. Anecdotal results have been positive so far:

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20110102/SUB01/301029993/alzheimers-trial-may-win-deal-for-adeona-supplement-interests-drug-firms#

Beyond Zinth, they are also in various stages of testing 4 other drugs for drugs for multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, age-related macular degeneration and rheumatoid arthritis, a couple of which have blockbuster potential. The management team, led by Dr. Kuo, is stellar, and insiders own 47% of the company. Recently, they added Dr. Anand Prasad to the team, a pioneer in zinc research.

Adeona has already received term sheets for Zinth from potential pharma partners, but nothing has been announced yet. The final data from the Zinc trials will be announced in March, although a partnership may come before then. Kuo has announced that Adeona will hold an investor day on February 8th, during which he will discuss plans for Zinth. If a partnership deal has been signed, that would probably be the day he announced it...