Submitted by John Stauber on
"A public-relations firm is dealing with a public-relations nightmare
after unintentionally e-mailing journalists and others documents about
one of its clients, Seattle-based Cell Therapeutics.
The mass e-mail from Shepardson Stern + Kaminsky on Wednesday revealed
the candid views of Cell Therapeutics managers and outside analysts on
the strengths and weaknesses of the biotechnology company. SS+K asserts
that the message was sent out as the result of a computer virus. The report, a summary of interviews conducted by SS+K, cites 'skepticism'
and 'outright cynicism' about Cell Therapeutics from both within and
outside the biotech firm. The company's chief drug in development, Xyotax, an anti-cancer drug,
'risks being over-hyped and overpromised,' the report says. Additionally,
it says, the clinical division of Cell Therapeutics, which tests drugs on
humans, 'has failed in the past and not yet addressed the root causes of
that failure.' ... Hours after the report was dispatched, SS+K sent another e-mail warning
recipients to delete the earlier one without opening it. 'An email sent from my mailbox earlier today contains a serious virus and
should not be opened, said the message from SS+K employee Susan Pierson Brown."
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