I have just come across this absolute gem. I don't normally get this excited, but must share it with others. Cobra is the name, listed on Aim and a market cap of 30 million. Just been awarded a US patent for a system that allows people to take previously injected drugs in tablet form. Already profitable was floated off from MLB last year (and given their fundraising today they may regret ever letting this one go).
Collins Stewart are predicting 1.8 million this year and 3.1 million next year, though i can see those numbers being left behind. The company is both exciting and defensive because some of the products that can be taken are against cancer, anthrax and other potentially fatal diseases. (Hoping of course there will never be another terrorist outrage but even then this stock would be one to have onside.) Turnover has doubled in the last twelve months and the potential really is amazing. Biotechs not usually my style but this one is already profitable and i just have to have some in my portfolio.

Cobra Biomanufacturing plc (AIM: CBF), the international manufacturer
of biopharmaceuticals, will announce it Preliminary Results for the year ended
30 September 2004 on 11 January 2005

As Cobra intend briefing analysts on the 11th, we should get an interesting RNS with the interims. All bodes well for an encouraging statement.

PRELIMINARY RESULTS ANNOUNCEMENT DATE
Keele, UK: Cobra Biomanufacturing plc (AIM: CBF), the international manufacturer
of biopharmaceuticals, will announce it Preliminary Results for the year ended
30 September 2004 on 11 January 2005. A briefing for analysts will be held at
Buchanan Communications, 107 Cheapside, London at 10 am.

Grevis2, many thanks for the update. I hope and believe they can again go over 1.00, but it's always good to hear from a fellow investor who also has fiath.

Jacks:

I'm encouraged by two things, Fidelity's holding and CBF's last statement which was very positive. "..Cobra said its confirmed forward order book for the current half year is more than double the position at this time last year."

With their results due next week, I would expect to see interest focused on this stock for a while.

Morning all. All very quiet on here today. That's somewhat surprising as CBF is due to announce its results next Tuesday. As you are aware there will also be presentation to a group of investment analysts at 10.00AM on the same day. CBF's last statement was very bullish so keep an eye on this stock over the next few days.

Results due on Tuesday 11 January 2005. They should show that recovery has continued.

AFX 7/10/04

In a trading statement, the biopharmaceutival manufacturing company said its second half sales were 30 pct higher than its first half sales.

Cobra said its confirmed forward order book for the current half year is more than double the position at this time last year. Confirmed orders from North America are improving.

Top % Gainers
# EPIC Name Price Chg %

15 CBF Cobra Bio-man. Ord 10p 47.25 3.25 7.39

From another BB:

(Some news today from Evolutec about director appointment and development of early stage products, Cobra have very close manufacturing/business links with Evolutec see below, also D. Bloxham who is CEO of Evolutec and is an board memeber of CBF, there appears to be every possibilty of Cobra getting further work from Evolutec based on their expertise in manufacturing rEV131 which is a novel lipocalin protein and is derived from tick salivary glands by recombinant technology.)

http://www.cobrabio.com/prs/061102.htm
Evolutec, the biotechnology company specialising in the discovery and development of novel therapeutic products from parasites is to begin Phase I/II clinical trials with rEV131, its treatment for allergic and inflammatory diseases, in North America in the next few weeks. This follows the acceptance of Evolutecs first Investigational New Drug (IND) application by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). rEV131 is manufactured using recombinant technology by Cobra Biomanufacturing and this is the first time that the FDA has accepted a protein product made by Cobra for clinical trials.

Evolutec appointment 10/1/05
His appointment strengthens Evolutec's development team and will allow the
Company to optimise the progress of its current portfolio of two pre-clinical
products, rEV598 and rEV576. Both of these compounds were derived from the
Company's proprietary technology platform in which potential drug candidates are isolated from the saliva of blood-feeding ticks.

rEV598 is a small protein that has the ability to bind with both serotonin and
histamine. Initial pre-clinical work has focussed on the use of the compound
against carcinoid syndrome and CINV (chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting).
rEV576 is a small protein that impacts the final step in the complement pathway
and has the potential to treat indications including rheumatoid arthritis and
stroke.

6 November 2002

Double First from FDA for Evolutec and Cobra

Evolutec Receives First IND Status from FDA for rEV131 and Cobra Gains First FDA Approval for a Protein Manufactured by the Company

Evolutec, the biotechnology company specialising in the discovery and development of novel therapeutic products from parasites is to begin Phase I/II clinical trials with rEV131, its treatment for allergic and inflammatory diseases, in North America in the next few weeks. This follows the acceptance of Evolutecs first Investigational New Drug (IND) application by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). rEV131 is manufactured using recombinant technology by Cobra Biomanufacturing and this is the first time that the FDA has accepted a protein product made by Cobra for clinical trials.

Dr David Bloxham, Chief Executive Officer of Evolutec said: 'This is a very significant step for Evolutec, given the importance of the North American market and the demanding standards set by the FDA. rEV131 will now enter an accelerated clinical development programme to assess its value in human allergic conjunctivitis, a market worth $1 billion worldwide. Data from single and multiple dose studies at a trials centre in Boston, Massachusetts, US, are expected in January 2003.'

David Thatcher, Chief Executive of Cobra Biomanufacturing commented: 'Cobra is delighted to have been involved in the development of rEV131. This is an important milestone for both companies. For Cobra this is the first protein product we have manufactured to be accepted for clinical trial by the FDA and it is a significant step in Cobras development as a service provider to the biotechnology industry.'

rEV131 is a novel lipocalin protein which is derived from tick salivary glands by recombinant technology. The compound binds histamine with high affinity and specificity and blocks its pharmacological actions, such as those which result in itching. The molecule has a novel mode of action compared with conventional anti-histamines because it inhibits white cell migration, probably through the suppression of H4 receptor mediated histamine responses. In pre-clinical models rEV131 demonstrated strong anti-inflammatory action.

Dr Mark Abelson, a leading ophthalmic expert and President of Ophthalmic Research Associates, Inc. (ORA) added 'This is a novel approach to the treatment of inflammatory disease of the eye and it has given very encouraging results in preclinical models of allergic conjunctivitis. A new drug that is more effective in treating itching and that can block more completely the allergic response would offer advantages over current therapies.' ORA, a renowned research and development group in ophthalmology, based in North Andover, MA, USA, will be conducting the clinical programme for rEV131.

Flicking through the internet I came across this item concerning the Cobra snake's mating habits. Seems as though the male gets allocated a whole month to do his duty and then that's it for another year:

In January, the male King Cobra starts to look for a mate. He tastes the air with his flickering tongue. Then, when he locates the female cobra, he will rub his chin along her body to calm her and to stimulate her for mating. After a month of mating the two snakes emerge from their hiding place. The female seeks out a secluded spot, she then excavates a shallow, circular depression in the ground up to 3 feet. in diameter. There she deposits 40-50 eggs and remains on or near the nest until they hatch in 70 -77 days. The female defends her nest site aggressively. The male may also stay close by for a while to assist in defense. When the eggs hatch, the hatchlings are 12 to 25 inches long. Their venom, produces in small quantities, is just a powerful as an adults. As soon as all the young snakes have hatched, the female leaves them to look after themselves.

Max online buy with Barclays is currently 5K

These results are not good enough to sustain the current price IMO:

Cobra Bio-Manufacturing FY drops into losses but H2 shows improvement
AFX

LONDON (AFX) - Cobra Bio-Manufacturing PLC dropped into a pretax loss of 2.27 mln stg in the year to Sept 30 2004 from a profit of 816,881 stg but this disguised the improvement seen in the second half.

Overall, the company said it is disappointed with the performance in the year under review but its prospects are improving.

The sales improvement in the second half of the financial year was due to a switch from DNA to proteins and virus, the company said. Cobra has restructured its sales and marketing to address the US market. It has also restructured the Oxford and Keele facilities.

Contracted business for financial year 2005 stands at 2.7 mln stg.

Figures for the year to Sept 30 2004 showed revenues down 42 pct to 3.5 mln stg from 6.0 mln. In the second half, however, revenues were up 30 pct to 2 mln stg.

Full year gross margin was 45 pct, down from 57 pct in 2003. In the second half, gross margin had improvemed to 49 pct from 39 pct in the first half.

The pretax loss in the second half was reduced by 17 pct to 1.03 mln stg compared with the first half loss of 1.24 mln.

Executive chairman Peter Fothergill said the second half improvement andthe current position of the order book are significant achievements.

He said the board is cautiously optimistic for the future.