The unblinding of the Phase II study of Immune ResponseCorp.'s HIV therapeutic vaccine has generated speculationamong analysts eager to interpret what little data is available.

Earlier this week, the San Diego company defended the studyafter Kidder, Peabody analyst Robert Kupor said he wasunimpressed with preliminary data from the trial. Kupor saidthe trial failed to demonstrate a dose response based on T4 cellcounts.

The stock (NASDAQ:IMNR), which had lost $3.25 in the week,rose $1.25 Wednesday to $19.25 after Steve Buell, a FurmanSelz drug analyst, put out comments stating that the company'sdata were encouraging.

Also on Wednesday, Montgomery Securities analyst BrandonFradd, who has a "strong buy" on the stock, told BioWorld thatKupor based his analysis on end points that weren't theprimary end points of the study.

The study focused on two primary end points, said Fradd: askin test that measures a CD4-mediated response and p24antibody levels in the blood.

T4 counts and viral load counts were done once at thebeginning and once at the end of the study, Fradd said. "So anyconclusion based on these means you're basing yourconclusions on side issues.

"The company reported to me that there's a clear difference onthe primary measures between the control group, which got anadjuvant, and the treated group," he said. "The company hasindicated there was a positive dose response." -- KarenBernstein

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