Survivalist fortress proposed in Idaho

Published: Wednesday, February 6, 2013, 12:01 a.m. ST. MARIES, Idaho -- A group of survivalists wants to build a giant walled fortress in the woods of the Idaho Panhandle, a medieval-style city where residents would be required to own weapons and stand ready to defend the compound if society collapses.

The proposal is called the Citadel and has created a buzz among folks in this remote logging town 70 miles southeast of Spokane. The project would more than double the population of Benewah County, home to 9,000 souls.

Locals have many questions, but organizers so far are pointing only to a website billing the Citadel as "A Community of Liberty."

"There is no leader," Christian Kerodin, a convicted felon who is a promoter of the project, wrote in a brief email to The Associated Press. "There is a significant group of equals involved ... each bringing their own professional skills and life experiences to the group.

"It is very much a `grass-roots' endeavor," Kerodin wrote, declining to provide any additional details.

Such communities are hardly new, especially in northern Idaho, which has drawn those looking to shun mainstream society because of its isolation, wide-open spaces and lack of racial diversity. For three decades, the Aryan Nations operated a compound about an hour north of here before the group went bankrupt and the land was sold.

Then came another community known as "Almost Heaven," founded in 1994 by Green Beret-turned-"patriot" movement leader Bo Gritz for those wanting a refuge from urban ills and Y2K concerns. That project crumbled when large numbers of buyers failed to move to the development, located 100 miles to the south.

The number of so-called patriot groups has grown since President Barack Obama was first elected, and the renewed debate over gun control is further deepening resentment of the federal government among such factions, said Mark Potok, a spokesman for the Southern Poverty Law Center. The SPLC tracks such groups.

Nevertheless, Potok noted, plans for these sorts of communities rarely come to fruition.

"The people behind the Citadel are like 12-year-old boys talking about the tree house, or the secret underground city, they're going to build some day," he said.

The website shows drawings of a stone fortress with room inside for up to 7,000 families. The compound would include houses, schools, a hotel and a firearms factory and museum.

The gun factory, the website said, would manufacture semi-automatic pistols and AR-15 rifles -- which would be illegal if Congress reinstates the 1994 ban on assault weapons.

Applicants must pay a $208 fee, and the website claims several hundred people already have applied to live in the Citadel.

No construction has begun. Kerodin filed papers with the Idaho Secretary of State in November for a company called Citadel Land Development. III Arms LLC, which is the name of the proposed firearms company, also has purchased 20 acres of land in Benewah County, the county auditor said.

The Citadel website said those 20 acres would serve as an administrative site from which to build the entire 2,000- to 3,000-acre compound.

Kerodin was convicted in 2004 of federal extortion charges and illegal possession of a firearm in a case in which he posed as a counterterrorism expert and attempted to coerce shopping mall owners in the Washington, D.C., area to hire him to improve security, according to court documents.

He served 30 months in federal prison.

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PHOTOS: Survivalist group teaches 9-year-old girl how to shoot AK-47

REUTERS

Brianna, 9, of the North Florida Survival Group hands an AK-47 rifle to Jim Foster, 57, the group's leader, before heading out to conduct enemy contact drills during a field training exercise in Old Town, Florida.

If a catastrophic event like a natural disaster, terrorist attack or nuclear holocaust threatens the survival of the United States, one group says they will be ready.

Shocking photos out today show children as young as nine learning how to operate AK-47s and teach them how "to survive in order to protect and defend our Constitution against all enemy threats."

PHOTOS: FLORIDA PREPPERS TEACH KIDS SURVIVAL SKILLS

The group says they will train almost anyone who is interested including Brianna, 9, who is pictured holding a variety of guns.

With more than 200 members, the group is growing larger everyday according to its leader Jim Foster, 57, a retired police officer currently living in Gainesville, Florida.

The group, which does not charge its members, only requires volunteers to bring their own gear.

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Survival of the fittest - Newcastle Herald

Human race … running a marathon takes commitment. Photo: Craig Golding

'A plain old runner'' is how Pete Budnik, a 31-year-old Sydney teacher, describes himself in sporting terms. ''I don't have much technical ability, but I'm competitive,'' he says.

It is this competitive side that has spurred him on to seek ever-greater trials. He has run half and full marathons, and in 2012 he entered Sydney's first Tough Mudder event. The 18-kilometre military-style obstacle course had teams navigating flames, high walls, freezing water and, naturally, lots of mud. He plans to enter again this year.

The director of Vision Personal Training in North Sydney, Kiril Chevel, has seen an increase in people taking on these challenges. ''There is definitely a noticeable [number] of 'average Joes' entering extreme sports which I think is due to companies becoming a little more health conscious about their employees and entering these types of events,'' he says.

Budnik was one of 25,000 Sydney Tough Mudder entrants, a record for the company that has run events in Britain and US since 2010. More than 100,000 entries are expected this year for the five events scheduled throughout Australia; the next one is in Sydney in April.

Sydney Marathon entries have also surged since the first race in 2001, which had 1550 runners. Until 2008, that number stayed at less than 2000; last year, 4000 people filled the run to capacity.

Budnik's motivation for entering is simple: ''I do it because I don't want to be sedentary.''

A team event like Tough Mudder also breaks up the monotony of training. ''This was something a bit more fun and social to do on the side; being part of a group that want to get out of bed early on a Saturday or Sunday and do this rather than going to the pub,'' he says.

Taking on an extreme sport is not an overnight decision, Chevel says. ''For someone who has never run before, to complete a marathon could take anywhere from three to six months to prepare,'' he says. ''You also need to take into account your weight, age and health background.''

He says preparing for any sport ''requires continuous progression on a weekly basis'' until the appropriate level of fitness is achieved. It takes commitment.

Budnik did regular sessions of cross-training to prepare for Tough Mudder. Although the Australian Tough Mudder ambassador, Lee Campbell, says anyone can sign up, some preparation is helpful. ''If you got stuck into a bit of basic training you'd be all right,'' Campbell says.

An ultra-marathon runner and the author of Running to Extremes, Lisa Tamati, has competed in extreme races for 16 years. She finds it boosts confidence. ''If you run 100 kilometres, you come out the other side thinking you're the bee's knees, and then you can deal with other stuff in life,'' she says.

Tamati took to long-distance races after breaking up with a daredevil boyfriend. ''I wasn't a very talented runner; I was more into doing adventurous things like climbing mountains and trekking,'' she says. ''But then I did an expedition across the Libyan desert in 1997. We went 350 kilometres without any outside help and only two litres of water a day - just me and three guys. One was my partner at the time.''

Although her relationship didn't make it through the expedition, Tamati wanted to tackle similar events, and two years later entered her first official ultra-marathon.

''I hadn't run a marathon or anything like that but I signed up and it was the most amazing adventure of my life,'' she says.

While she's ''hooked on the adrenalin'', she has seen the consequences when others have entered a race they weren't ready for. ''A lot of races I've been to were sold too easily,'' she says. ''In a recent race in Nepal it was the first time it had been run and we were quite shocked about how hard it was. A lot of people were under-prepared. There were three helicopter rescues and two people nearly died. Things can and do happen.''

Running an ultra-marathon is a long-term goal for Budnik, but he already has his next dare lined up.

''I hate swimming in open water, but I'm going to do the Bondi to Bronte ocean swim in December,'' he says. ''It's like being afraid of heights and needing to approach the edge of a cliff to look down.''

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Into the woods, alone for 4 days - Boston Globe

As the crow flies, Richard Cooper, an Arlington High School junior, was not all that far from his usual environs when he took the final exam in one of his courses during a long weekend early last month. Maybe 35 miles or so.

But alone in the forest and burrowed deep into the makeshift shelter he had built from sticks and leaves, with a foot of snow carpeting the bare woods around him and the temperature plunging to 5 degrees in the long winter night, he was certainly way outside his normal comfort zone.

Nothing brought home his situation more than the sounds to which he fell asleep on those three nights in Townsend State Forest, just below the New Hampshire border in north-central Massachusetts.

“Each night there were at least 20 coyotes screaming all night long, walking within 20 feet of where I was sleeping,” Cooper said. “Every morning I could see their tracks. It was like an army of coyotes.”

Samantha Cooper

Jacob Ballin, an Arlington High School student, crouches near the shelter he built in Townsend State Forest in north central Massachusetts as part of a wilderness survival experience in early January.

Many people may already have trouble remembering what they were doing on the days and nights of Jan. 5-8, but Cooper and 28 other Arlington High juniors and seniors may never forget. The students spent the time testing newly acquired outdoors skills — and their courage and fortitude — on a solo wilderness survival experience that was the culmination of a semester-long course at their school.

The students met twice a week starting in November, receiving training in basic winter survival skills (fire- and shelter-building, etc.), practicing what they learned in the town’s Menotomy Rocks Park.

 For their final exam, which was mandatory to pass the course, the students were taken to the forest in Townsend, given a 10-foot-square sheet of plastic, a cold-weather sleeping bag, six matches, and two bags of food, and ushered to a 2-acre area where they were required to stay — alone — for four days and three nights.

Each student also brought along string, a whistle, a trowel, a survival knife, a candle, a pen and journal, and some other items. They were not allowed any electronic devices, even wristwatches or flashlights — anything that could detract from the wilderness experience.

The point of all this is “to build personal character, integrity, self-esteem, challenge — all the more valuable but less measurable things they can get out of high school,” said Bob Tremblay, who taught the class, which he believes is the only such course offered by a Massachusetts public school.

“This is a rite-of-passage, wilderness-challenge experience,” Tremblay said. “We’re talking about kids that are sleeping alone in a wilderness environment, hearing coyotes howl around them, and they talk about a sense of peace. The take-away is, ‘I’m braver than I thought I was.’ ”

Mary Villano, Arlington High’s principal, said the school is proud of the course and other such offerings, like hiking and backpacking skills, that “give students things they can use for the rest of their lives.

“It’s very unusual to have something like this in a high school,” she said. “The students face a difficult challenge and they come back really proud. It’s transforming for them.”

Preparing for the weekend required a lot of time and effort from Tremblay and his assistants, who helped monitor the students and keep them safe without diluting the sense of solitude that is essential to the experience. The aides — many of them Arlington High graduates who took the course in the 40 years that the school has offered it — marked the boundaries of each student’s 2-acre space, set up two base camps for emergency aid, and patrolled the forest day and night.

“Even though the students have the perception that they are all alone in the wilderness,” Tremblay wrote in an e-mail, “the reality is that there are 30 students in the area surrounding them, all collecting wood and burning fires, in addition to our 20 staff members walking the area every half hour for the entire four days. The perception to the animals is that a huge city has moved into the forest.”

Once the students were left at their sites, they faced the hard work of survival — starting a fire, cooking meals, building a shelter — on their own.

The first task was usually to build a bivouac, or bivy, sack from the sheet of plastic — “kind of like a big Hot Pocket,’’ said one student, Robert Harrelson, referring to a brand of microwavable sandwiches. Because plastic tears easily in the cold, the students learned how to bunch off part of the sheet into “buttons” that can be tied with string and seal the bivy sack’s seam. The sack’s “roof’’ was then suspended from the larger “debris hut’’ that each student built from fallen branches, leaves, and snow. The resulting shelter is just spacious enough to hold a student and a sleeping bag.

A lot can go wrong out in the woods, as many students can attest. Of Patrick McDonald-Meteer’s six matches, five wouldn’t light; when Casey Flaherty  made his debris hut, snow fell through the roof and crushed his bivy sack; Hannah Kleppner lost her knife; Kenzie Schoenthaler stepped on his water jug, creating a fountain that extinguished his fire.

Another challenge was figuring out just how to spend roughly 72 hours without the usual company of people, cellphones, and Facebook.

The long, dark nights made one strategy popular: “Survival is a great course for AP students because it is the most sleep you will get all year,” observed Harrelson, a senior.

Added Schoenthaler, a junior: “I counted mine, and I got 35 hours of sleep in three nights.”

But there were a lot of positives to take away from the experience, students said.

“I am an extremely social person,’’ said senior Charlotte Stobbe. “I love talking to people. I love singing. So I thought, ‘I’ll talk to myself and I’ll go insane.’ But I didn’t. It was just so quiet and peaceful, and I felt if I talked or sang, it would be like ruining the beautiful nature. So I just soaked in the nature, and it was really calming.’’

Alex Boucher, a junior, also appreciated the solitude. “You have a lot of time to sit down and think about stuff. I had a lot of time to reflect on past events and myself. You really go through a self-realization about who you are as a person.’’

Tristan Jantz, also a junior, read Thoreau’s “Walden’’ while he was in the woods, and it resonated with him.

“He talks about how unnecessary these big lavish houses are, and it’s really true: You can just have a little shelter and be out there in the woods and be happy,” Jantz said.

All of which makes Tremblay think, yeah, they get it.

“The whole camping-in-the-wilderness is kind of an alle­gory,’’ said Tremblay, 50, a resident of Templeton. 

“It’s preparing them for leaving the nest and moving to a strange city and living on their own, being their own resource, learning to do without. I see it as preparation for life after high school. What they get out of it is a sense that ‘Hey, I can really do something.’ ”

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'University Of Heroes' Will Teach Urban Survival Skills To Young Entrepreneurs - Business Insider

Going out and starting a business has become a somewhat glamorous alternative to college and a traditional career path. Increasingly, people are trying to capitalize on that, feeding into the demand for support and training for a career path and set of skills that are notoriously hard to teach. 

One of the odder entries in the field comes from Silicon Valley venture capitalist Tim Draper. Bloomberg Businessweek's Ari Levi takes a look at the "Draper University of Heroes," an eight week course on entrepreneurship set to launch in April. Draper put $20 million of his own money into the program. It will cost students $7,500.

Some of the program is fairly standard, including lectures from speakers like Tony Hsieh, Elon Musk, and Ron Johnson, and classes on pitching, finance, and viral marketing.

Levi points out some more unconventional parts of the program as well, which, according to the website, will be "centered around superhero themes." The course will feature urban and other survival training, which will include learning how to suture, riflery, and other weapons training. The website also lists SWAT training, hydroponics, neurolinguistics, lie detection, and martial arts as components of the program. 

Still, despite these unconventional components, it's hard to argue with Draper's success as an investor. He bet early on companies like Skype, Tesla, and Baidu. 

It's also an opportunity for students to get ideas off the ground. Each student creates a company, with advice and mentorship from experts. They end the program with a two minute pitch to real investors, and Draper expects to invest his own company's money in the startup of one of the students who attended a pilot program last year. 

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Training tests survival plans - Dothan Eagle

Preparing for a life-or-death situation can be a grim truth, but installation officials said it’s a necessary reality that people need to face.

Organizations and offices on Fort Rucker participated in Tactical Tuesday to go over and implement hands-on training in a scenario Tuesday as if an active shooter had entered their building, and Deena Jones, plans, analysis and integration office director, said the training was beneficial and necessary for her office.

“What I wanted us to do was talk about some of the defensive measures and actions that we would take within our office,” she said. “This gives us an opportunity to get into a real situation of scenarios to see what we would do.”

Jones said that their office has had an emergency action plan for active shooter scenarios that has been revised since it moved to Bldg. 5700, but it has yet to have an opportunity to play the plans out.

“We want to validate that the emergency action plan will hit the high-level defensive measures that we need,” she said. “What’s paramount is safety and survival. We don’t like to talk about survival, but that’s the environment we could potentially be in.”

The office came together in the morning and began by first reviewing the materials and guidelines provided by the Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security.

Russ English, plans specialist for PAIO, facilitated the training and began by going over a broad view of the scenario if the incident happened elsewhere on the installation. They talked about how they would be notified, what they would do and reviewed evacuation routes for their side of the building.

In the event the shooter was in their own building, English reviewed with the staff the three actions of how to respond: evacuate, hide out or attack.

English said the course of action to take was situation dependent, and in the event that his office needed to evacuate, he wanted to make sure that each member of the staff knew exactly where the exits were, which routes to take and where their specific rendezvous point is.

Jones said it was important for all members of her staff to meet at the specific rendezvous point to make sure they account for everyone.

One specific point that English made was that they were advised not to pull the fire alarm in the evacuation process. Pulling the fire alarm could potentially put more people in harms way and cause mass confusion, he said.

Evacuating would be the course of action to take if it was known that the shooter was in the building. If the shooter was closer to their location in the building, the correct action response would be to hide.

During the exercise, staff members looked for potential hiding spots within their offices that they could find shelter and hopefully avoid detection, and even practiced barricading themselves in a room against an intruder. They went over different steps to take while hiding, like turning off cell phone ringers, locking doors and turning off lights.

As a final course of action, they went over the last-case scenario, which would involve the shooter entering their office and the staff having to attack the shooter as a last resort.

English said they should use any type of improvised weapon that they can from letter openers and screwdrivers to pencils and hot coffee. They discussed that they should only attack the shooter, however, if they are in imminent danger, and emphasized that in that moment it would truly be a life-or-death situation and that people should fight for their lives.

The office also reviewed and discussed what to expect when law enforcement arrives on the scene and stressed that everyone should comply with officers’ demands.

“The first responders aren’t there to assist the injured,” said English. “They are there to get the aggressor.”

Kristina Davis, lead management and program analyst at PAIO, said walking through the plans made it easier to reinforce the lessons learned.

“I think in emergency situations people can recite the steps, but you really have to take the actions to do the steps,” she said. “ Actually getting up and walking around and practicing just helps put that in your mind, and you’d be able to draw on that during a real emergency.”

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Retail survival will require both consumer and product centricity - Retail Customer Experience (blog)

The term "consumer-centric" has been bandied about in retail a lot recently. What does it really mean to be a consumer centric retailer? Obviously, it means to be focused on a consumer's point of view and their interests. Yet, retail has historically focused on merchandising and selling products when consumers come to the store or website.

To survive, retailers must profitably sell products. But today, omni-channel is the new retail normal. It’s not a question of either/or. To be successful long term retailers must essentially become schizophrenic and master the art and science of both consumer and product centricity.

Sometimes you are just "gob smacked" with a breakthrough idea

While traveling Europe this past week, I once again ran into the term "gob smacked." It is not a common expression in the West or in Asia. But, there is no better term to describe something that literally stops you in your tracks and makes you take notice. In writing this post I was reminded of a past blog where I used the term "gob smacked" in relation to getting people's attention through visualization.

When I ran across Don Peppers visualization of critical success factors to compete successfully, well, I was completely gob smacked by his elegant simplicity! So many retailers and vendors are fixated on just category management and SKU profitability. Yet consumer studies show that the world is quickly changing to the empowered consumer and the need to establish relationship with them. Peppers artfully argues that successful companies need to do both simultaneously.

Peppers Model explaining the duplicity of consumer + product centricity

Central to Peppers model is the juxtaposition of consumer and product dimensions:

"So first we should visualize a "marketing space" defined by the customer needs a business can satisfy (the vertical dimension) and by the number of customers it has (the horizontal dimension). Then we can map customer centricity and product centricity on the same diagram."

The value of this approach is that it inherently defines the core competencies of strategically competing in today's omni-channel world. Success is not choosing one over the other; it is being able to both manage and measure product sales and consumer relationships.

Don Peppers Model for explaining the synergy of consumer and product centricity

Product centricity … essentials and pitfalls

In my work with retailers and consumer product manufacturers, I experience many clinging exclusively to product centric marketing of the past. You can see it in the typical metrics used to measure the business and success criteria. Product centricity is reflected in scorecards focused on:

Unit sales volumes

Product mix sold

Customers reached and markets penetrated

Year over year growth of product sales revenue

Market share by category

There is nothing inherently wrong with a product centric focus. In optimizing their business, retailers need to analyze the profitability generated by each product (GMROII). They also need to analyze assortment mix and category management to optimize the total revenue and profit per sq. meter of space. Whether it be a bricks and mortar store or ecommerce, the retailer must be selling the right mix of products or the consumer simply has no reason to come. And, the most successful retailers are constantly engaged in product and assortment analytics to improve both the offering and the profit of selling through to consumers coming to make a purchase.

Consumer centricity … what share of a consumer's life are you participating in?

Unlike products and merchandising, consumers are experiential. They have memories about their experience in physical and virtual stores. Through social media they share their experiences with everyone they know!

Simply put, consumer centricity is about "share of wallet," not market share. Successful retailers today are focused on "life time value" – how many needs they can satisfy for each consumer, especially the most loyal ones Product centricity is about acquiring market share through the sum of product purchases. Success in consumer centricity is achieved by acquiring consumer relationships and optimizing them over time. It is not about "market basket" just today, but share of household value and use over time.

In the sage words of Don Peppers …

A product-centric competitor focuses on one product at a time and tries to sell that product to as many customers as possible.

A customer-centric competitor focuses on one customer at a time and tries to sell that customer as many products as possible.

It's not a matter of either/or, but how to do both well simultaneously

The results of Amazon and other successful e-tailers are not a fluke. They have done a masterful job of taking market share through optimizing their "long tail" assortment of millions of SKUs. They are the epitome of how to sell more things to consumers. Yet, at the same time, Amazon has created a superior experience focused on the consumer relationship. In addition to making it very easy to buy today, Amazon is a master in the art of following up and appealing to consumer needs and passions. CRM (Customer Relationship Management) is a core strategy and competency.

Many of the big box retailers were born in a bricks and mortar heritage of product centric selling. Some of the biggest retailers in financial trouble continue to execute category management strategies of rearranging products, assortments and fixtures almost like "deck chairs on the Titanic". The absolute telling metric is declining footfall traffic indicating that many consumers are not returning. If retailers only focus on selling products profitably, today they are missing opportunities to create and fulfill solutions and selling to the same customers tomorrow.

Consumer centric will be a success factor for omni-channel retailing

Inherently, bricks and mortar retailers have been steeped in a tradition of product centric retailing. For that matter, most consumer products companies have built their business on selling products to the masses. If market share or volume drops, the classic response has been to run more promotions and/or reduce price. In many categories this race to the bottom on price has climaxed with barely acceptable margins to break even.

In the new normal of omni-channel, survival will be highly dependent upon:

Making an acceptable profit on the products you sell today

Maximizing relationships to draw back consumers again and again to purchase

Don Peppers perhaps summarizes the duality required for success in his visual metaphors:

Tracking a customer relationship is like watching a movie in progress, while tracking your product sales involves taking snapshots of the business situation at different times.

The successful omni-channel retailers do both simultaneously extremely well!

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Glowsticks: The ultimate survival tool - allmediascotland.com (press release)

GLOW sticks are most commonly associated with parties and discos, but what many may not know is that glowsticks are incredibly versatile and have many different uses and applications. Their robustness and ability to provide light without the need for batteries or an external power source allows them to be advantageous in a number of different scenarios.

Although glowsticks are believed to be a simple toy, this could not be further from the truth. When the chemicals within the glow stick react, this creates the phenomenon also known as chemiluminescence which takes place when two different chemicals react and create light as a by product..

Originally created by the military, the plan was to create a light source that would be perfect for emergency scenarios. So if you happen to find yourself in a situation where gas may be present and any spark or fire would cause an explosion, you will wish you had a glow stick at hand. Ever since the creation of the glowstick, it has became not only the number one party essential, but also the survivalists dream tool.

Glowsticks are light, can function through high winds and are 100 per cent waterproof. When you combine this with their glow time that is anywhere between six to twelve hours, depending on the glowstick, it’s easy to understand why they are not to be underestimated.

Of course, glowsticks are not just suitable for natural disasters. If you experience a flat tyre or your car breaks down on the motorway, it’s vital to let the traffic know of your presence. A simple glowstick can provide much greater exposure and reliability than a torch.

And because Glowsticks give off a brilliantly bright and vibrant glow, this allows hikers and any situation where having a light on your clothes may be helpful in any event of falling or becoming trapped. This is not limited to cyclists and joggers.

At Glowsticks.co.uk you can find a number of products that not only make use of chemiluminescence, but also photoluminescence and electroluminescence, giving the UK access to products that will not only increase their safety, but also increase their party options.

All the products available at glowsticks.co.uk undertake rigorous safety checks and are fully UK certified and suitable for ages 3+, unless stated otherwise.

About glowsticks.co.uk:
Glowsticks.co.uk are the UK’s leading provider of glowsticks, glow necklaces, glow bracelets and flashing novelties. Glowsticks.co.uk combining both first rate customer service and the latest innovations. A company that is at the forefront of providing new and exciting products based on current and new technology that involves chemiluminescence, photoluminescence and electroluminescence.

Traditionally serving the events, fund-raising and party markets with glowsticks, glow necklaces and UV make-up and party products.

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Immunomedics Has A Cheap, Deep And Recently Capitalized Pipeline - Seeking Alpha

By Ivan Deryugin

With a broad 12-asset pipeline, Immunomedics (IMMU), at first glance, lacks focus. But a closer look reveals a diverse development program supported by solid clinical data and an unassuming valuation; the small company warrants further examination based on price alone. Immunomedics' recent financing creates an entry point into a company whose $175M market capitalization fails to capture the opportunities embedded within its broad pipeline. IMMU has been a compelling story for some time, but the need for capital tempered our enthusiasm. With the financing out of the way, investors can now focus on the fundamentals of the long-term story, as the drug developer has the reserves needed to execute on development in 2013 and move into next year. It will be a pivotal time for its lead candidates - indicative of clinical and commercial success - and should pique the interest of the greater biotech community as critical data read-outs approach.

Overview And Reviewing the Capital Raise

Immunomedics generates revenues from sales of two diagnostic products, LeukoScan and ImmuSTRIP. But revenues from these products, which generated just $734K in Q2 2013, aren't what make Immunomedics a compelling company. Rather, note the company's pipeline and comparatively low valuation. Immunomedics has a market capitalization of under $175M and a pipeline of 12 clinical programs. The company is conducting trials for a number of large and lucrative indications, including pancreatic cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, lymphomas, and most importantly, lupus. The company is focused on delivering shareholder value by prudently out-licensing its late-stage assets while moving forward with its early-stage programs. We identify three development programs to which investors should pay particular attention, as they have the potential to be significant value drivers for shares of Immunomedics.

On February 22, Immunomedics announced that it had raised $14 million by selling 6.1M shares of common stock at $2.30, a discount of almost 15% to its closing price of $2.70 on February 21. Shares plunged once the markets opened on February 22nd, falling as low as $2.11. However, they steadily marched higher throughout the day and closed at $2.46, near the high of the day on volume that was over 8x higher than the company's average daily trading volume. This indicates that there was significant buying interest occurring, and that this capital raise was seen as an opportunity to initiate positions in Immunomedics. It should also be noted that there is solid institutional support for Immunomedics. CEO Cynthia Sullivan and her husband David Goldenberg (Immunomedics' founder and Chief Medical Officer) together own over 3.4 million shares of the company. Their stake, when combined with the stakes of the company's 4 largest institutional investors, mean that Immunomedics' 5 largest investors control 21,856,127 shares, or 26.72% of the company. With $14 million in new capital, Immunomedics now has over $35 million in cash and investments on its balance sheet, and with a quarterly burn rate of less than $6 million, has the capital reserves it needs to execute on its pipeline and business development for the foreseeable future.

Epratuzumab

Immunomedics' lead candidate is Epratuzumab, a monoclonal antibody being investigated for the treatment of lupus lymphoma. The drug candidate is currently in Phase III trials (EMBODY-1 and -2) specifically for systemic lupus erythematosus, also known as SLE, for which it has received fast track status from the FDA. Phase IIb trials of Epratuzumab in SLE yielded encouraging results, with patients that were dosed with 600 mg of Epratuzumab showing a statistically significant response.

The trial also showed that Epratuzumab was well tolerated over the course of a 4-year extension study, with "clinically meaningful" improvements in patients' quality of life. Phase III studies are underway, and Immunomedics expects to report this data within the first half of 2014. The company has licensed Epratuzumab in SLE to Belgium-based UCB, Inc. The deal with UCB was struck in 2006 for a $38 million upfront payment, escalating double-digit royalties, and up to $280 million in milestone payments, defined by Immunomedics and UCB as milestones relating to the potential approval and commercialization of Epratuzumab.

While Immunomedics has, by licensing Epratuzumab to UCB, given up the majority of its revenue potential, it also removed the majority of the costs associated. Under the terms of this agreement, UCB is responsible for all development and commercialization costs related to Epratuzumab in non-oncology indications. Immunomedics and UCB amended their agreement in December 2011, in which UCB gained the right to sublicense Epratuzumab to a third party, and Immunomedics issued a 5-year warrant to purchase 1 million shares of its stock for $8 (its stock closed at $2.73 on February 21), in exchange for the return of UCB's right to buy into Epratuzumab's oncology indications. Given that the lupus market is estimated at multi-billions of dollars, there's room for multiple therapies beyond GlaxoSmithKline's (GSK) Benlysta, and Immunomedics' royalties have the potential to be in the hundreds of millions. The global lupus market is estimated to grow to $3.9 billion by 2021, representing growth of over 464% from $691 million in 2011. And although Benlysta is expected to hold a plurality of the market (2021 share is estimated to reach 43.59%), there is ample room for other lupus drugs to take share. Industry observers also note that there is potential for different lupus drugs to carve out specific niches within the lupus segment, thereby mitigating some of the risk stemming from competition.

Immunomedics is also testing Epratuzumab for the treatment of lymphoma, and the drug is currently in Phase II trials for this indication. Data from an earlier study presented at the 2012 ASH meeting in Atlanta showed that Epratuzumab had a complete response rate of 50% in the 32 patients in the study (P=0.000000012). Sullivan said, "We are very pleased with the encouraging complete response rate reported by SWOG (the Southwest Oncology Group of the National Cancer Institute that conducted this study). We continue to add value to epratuzumab by supporting its use in oncology indications by outside, independent investigators. The anti-CD22 antibody will be evaluated in a large multicenter European trial by the IntreALL Inter-European study group in combination with chemotherapy in pediatric patients with relapsed ALL, using event-free survival as the primary endpoint."

Y-90-Clivatuzumab

Y-90-Clivatuzumab is currently in clinical testing for the treatment of late-stage pancreatic cancer, which has earned it fast track status from the FDA, as well as orphan drug status both here in the United States and in Europe. Immunomedics maintains full global rights for Clivatuzumab, which is labeled with yittrium-90 in order to deliver radiation directly to a patient's tumor. Pancreatic cancer, with an estimated 37,390 deaths in 2012, is the 4th deadliest cancer in the United States, with a median survival time of just 5.65 months. Immunomedics released the results of its Phase I/II study of Y-90 Clivatuzumab at the 2012 ASCO meeting, and the results were encouraging. Patients saw actual shrinkage in the size of their tumors, and median survival improved to 11.8 months in Part 1 and 8.7 months in part 2 (the blended median survival was 9.3 months). These findings suggest that there is a dose-dependent efficacy for Clivatuzumab, and the company states that, "Continued repeat dosing at low levels appears to be a key feature in this potential first-in-class treatment regimen. 90Y doses of 12 mCi/m2 for Cycle 1 and 6.5 mCi/m2for Cycle 2 appear to be safe dose levels with transient and manageable bone marrow suppression, and no increased infections or bleeding."

No discussion of a pancreatic cancer drug can be complete without mentioning the potential impact of Abraxane, Celgene's (CELG) cancer drug that is seen by many as the emerging flagship drug to fight pancreatic cancer. Immunomedics' management team spoke at length about this issue on its Q2 2013 earnings call. David Goldenberg, the company's Chief Medical Officer, noted that Immunomedics has been able to enroll patients into its Clivatuzumab trials faster than expected because it has proven less difficult to find pancreatic cancer patients at the advanced stages that the company is looking for. The benefits that Abraxane has shown in pancreatic cancer are benefitting Immunomedics as well, for it is able to find patients for 3rd and 4th lines of therapy. Clivatuzumab is aimed at treating pancreatic cancer patients further down the line than other drugs in development, and David Goldenberg has articulated that the company's challenge is finding enough patients that live long enough to reach (as well as tolerate) this line of therapy. Goldenberg stated:

"Our current trial has been very informative. First, if you are indeed following such therapies as ABRAXANE and FOLFIRINOX, more patients are now available for third-line therapy. Second, we have noted that the majority tolerate our therapy quite well. And in fact, we are seeing some of these patients being capable of getting repeated clivatuzumab therapies, even including four therapy cycles….

...We felt we would have to go searching for patients that would be third- or fourth-line coming into this trial. And we are so overwhelmed that we have to disappoint the investigators very soon and stop the trial because it's (reaching) enrollment. So thanks to the improvements being made in the management of pancreatic cancer (via the benefits of Abraxane), we're seeing more patients living more and coming into this advanced state after multiple therapies."

Immunomedics is set to complete enrollment of a Phase Ib trial for Clivatuzumab this month. The trial will evaluate Clivatuzumab in pancreatic cancer patients that have taken at least 2 prior therapies. Immunomedics expects that if this trial is successful, Phase III trials will begin in the 2nd half of 2013.

Veltuzumab

Immunomedics' third late-stage program is Veltuzumab, an anti-CD20 antibody that's being investigated for use in the treatment of immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and rheumatoid arthritis. Phase I/II clinical trial results of Veltuzumab in ITP were presented at the 2012 ASH meeting. Immunomedics tested 4 different doses (ranging from 160 mg to 1280 mg) in 44 patients. The overall objective response rate was 50%, and 29% of patients had a complete response (defined as platelet levels above 100,000/µL). However, complete response rates changed depending on how long patients had ITP. For patients who were diagnosed with ITP less than 12 months before the study, the complete response rate was 25% (the objective response rate stood at 58%). But patients who had ITP anywhere between 5-37 years had a complete response rate of 30% (and an objective response rate of 47%). There were clinical responses recorded at all dosing levels. In a Phase I study of Veltuzumab in CLL, Immunomedics showed that patients who took Veltuzumab saw acceptable clinical responses.

3 patients (or 17% of the total number of participants) had partial responses as their best responses, and Immunomedics is currently in the process of conducting a new Phase I/II trial of Veltuzumab in CLL, with data likely to be reported in the second half of this year. While Immunomedics is still studying the use of Veltuzumab for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, there is a need to redesign its trial protocols for this particular indication, and I expect the company to provide an update in early 2013 on its progress. Veltuzumab has been out-licensed to Takeda-Nycomed, which has rights to all non-cancer indications. Under the terms of this agreement, signed in July 2008, Takeda-Nycomed made an initial payment of $40 million and is responsible for all development and commercialization costs. Immunomedics is eligible to receive escalating double-digit royalties and $580 million in milestone payments from Takeda-Nycomed upon the meeting of certain regulatory and commercialization milestones.

Conclusions

Immunomedics is an under-the-radar biotechnology company that simply should not be. With 12 different clinical programs, including several compelling late-stage product candidates, and key data readouts in 2014, we're coming into an exciting time. The company announced alongside its Q2 2013 earnings that it has initiated a Phase I dose-escalation trial of SN-38, one of its early-stage oncology programs, and that a Phase I trial of milatuzumab, a program targeting chronic lymphocytic leukemia, is planned for the second half of fiscal 2013 (which ends in June). We'll be looking for possible licensing deals, which the company has repeatedly hinted at this year, and shares are up for a move higher into 2014 when pivotal data for Epratuzumab is set to be released.

Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it. I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article. (More...)

Additional disclosure: PropThink is a team of editors, analysts and writers. This article was written by Ivan Deryugin. We did not receive compensation for this article, and we have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article. Use of PropThink’s research is at your own risk. You should do your own research and due diligence before making any investment decision with respect to securities covered herein. You should assume that as of the publication date of any report or letter, PropThink, LLC and persons or entities with whom it has relationships (collectively referred to as "PropThink") has a position in all stocks (and/or options of the stock) covered herein that is consistent with the position set forth in our research report. Following publication of any report or letter, PropThink intends to continue transacting in the securities covered herein, and we may be long, short, or neutral at any time hereafter regardless of our initial recommendation. To the best of our knowledge and belief, all information contained herein is accurate and reliable, and has been obtained from public sources we believe to be accurate and reliable, and not from company insiders or persons who have a relationship with company insiders.

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SONCON, LLC Launches Website Featuring Camping and Survival Products - PR Web (press release)

Mesa, Arixona (PRWEB) February 12, 2013

Steve and Cathy O’Neil are proud to announce the creation and launch of their new website venture, http://www.CampingSurvivalAndPreparedness.com. The website carries camping stoves and cooking equipment, first aid and survival supplies as well as other useful camping and outdoor products. Steve O’Neil is someone who has been camping since he was a young child and thus, has many years of experience with camping equipment and camp stoves. He hopes to use his experience to help his customers make the right choices with their products.

The O’Neils believe that a lot of people don’t go camping because they don’t have the experience and are apprehensive about it. What Steve and Cathy O’Neil wish to do with CampingSurvivalAndPreparedness.com is help introduce their customers to new aspects of camping by showing them that with the right supplies, all offered in the online store, planning and going on a camping trip is much easier than those people might have originally anticipated.

One thing that customers can use the products on CampingSurvivalAndPreparedness.com for is to build survival skills. “The reason for the website’s name is because camping is all about being prepared to survive, so going camping can help you build your survival skills,” Steve O’Neil stated. There are many excellent high quality items on the website that are intended to enhance anyone’s camping experience, including small camping stoves that are efficient, portable, and useful for survival situations.

Not only are the products offered on CampingSurvivalAndPreparedness.com good for camping, they are affordable and can be used in emergency situations at home. Being prepared in any situation always makes life more comfortable and less stressful. Preparedness can make all the difference in one’s camping endeavors and will reward campers with good memories of their camping experiences.

To complement the main website, the O’Neils are launching a blog located at http://www.CampingSurvivalAndPreparednessBlog.com. The blog will feature topics related to the products offered on the website, as well as the general topics of camping, survival, preparedness, first aid, dehydrated foods, and proper storage of food materials for camping trips. Through the blog posts, the O’Neils hope to inform their potential customers and guide them towards purchasing the proper products that will keep them safe and prepared on a camping trip.

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