Generex Biotechnology Corporation (NASDAQ: GNBT) Banking On Nourishment from a Spray

Someday, science fiction writers tell us, we'll get some of our nourishment from a spray. Such is what Generex Biotechnology Corporation (NASDAQ: GNBT) is banking on, and to that end, it set up shop at the Arlington Convention Center in suburban Dallas, during this week's Marketplace 2009 convention. Toronto-based Generex, which trades on the NASDAQ under the symbol GNBT, purports to be the leader in drug delivery for metabolic diseases through the inner lining of the mouth, and while all of the Company's tasty treats will be on display, the focus will be on BaBOOM!(TM) Energy Spray, which Generex plans to sell in convenience stores throughout North America. It's at Marketplace 2009 that Generex hopes to reach its target market. The convenience market industry consists of nearly 150,000 convenience stores across the United States and realized sales of more $500 billion in 2007 alone with the numbers growing every year. Generex hopes to generate a buzz (boom?) with this product by giving it the biggest stage possible.
 
BaBOOM was broken in through Zellers stores in Canada, and was such a hit, it was introduced into more than 1,000 corner conveniences in the States.
 
But apart from the stuff that taste good, GNBT claims a proprietary platform technology for the delivery of drugs into the human body through the oral cavity (with no deposit in the lungs). The Company's proprietary liquid formulations allow drugs formerly given through a needle to be absorbed into the body via the mouth. The Company's flagship product, oral insulin (Generex Oral-lyn(TM)), now available for sale in India and Ecuador for the treatment of subjects with Type-1 and Type-2 diabetes, is in Phase III clinical trials at several sites around the world.
 
The stock peaked during the tech bubble of the late 20th century and the early portion of this, displaying big market potential in 2001 around the $22 mark, before settling as much of its brethren did throughout the recession that followed, below $5 to stay in 2002. The price currently sits around 30 cents, the lower portion of a 52-week range that saw it soar to $1.21 this week last year, and gully around eight cents in March, when things were generally sullen throughout the equity market, big and small. As Shania Twain sings, things can only up from here, and while the company is appealing to investors by way of their sweet tooth, more interest will likely be “generated” by the steps taken to curb excess sugar in the blood. At the very least, for the latter reason, this stock merits a close look.