I just returned home from the ASM (only seven miles). I don't see any other posts yet, so I'll jump in with my impressions.

First, I'll give the sequence of the meeting.

1. Brief welcome by Gold.

2. Formal part of the meeting conducted by Brewer. Took all of 10 to 15 minutes. Everybody reading from a script. All four proposals passed.

3. Powerpoint presentation by Gold. Nothing new in the slides. As he said at the beginning, he would be brief, because he figured most of the attendees had already seen the presentation, perhaps several times.

4. Q & A with Gold. Took about 45 minutes.

Overall, not much of significance occurred during the Q & A for anyone who is a regular reader of the IV board. Pretty much everything that was said is already known. Here's what I think are the key points.

1. The executive team and the board are committed to growing Dendreon as an independent company. Stated several times by Gold and once by Brewer. I didn't sense any reason not to take them at their word. That said, Gold did make sure to state that the board does have a fiduciary responsibility to consider any acquisition offers seriously. Also, he refused to state whether Dendreon had been approached by anyone for an acquisition.

2. Reiterated that Dendreon will be partnering with someone for ROW rights to Provenge. No timeframe given or indications as to the current state of any discussions.

3. NJ Facility is being built out to capacity. Looking at additional facilities for the future.

4. BLA submission will be in the fourth quarter. FDA will respond within six months of submission.

5. Analyst meeting is this summer. Stated more than once, and very definitely chose not to narrow down the timeframe to other than "this summer".

6. Pricing will not be announced until after approval.

My overall impression is that Dendreon is much more concerned with getting the path to Provenge commercialization "right" rather than "quick". they seem intent on taking a very methodical approach to the whole process.

That's it from me,

Steve

P.S. I'm sure some of the other attendees will be chiming in later today or tomorrow.