With a market cap of just $100 million, Biomira (BIOMF)(BIOMF) isn't on big investors' screens. But some pros find the stock compelling: The company is developing a vaccine, called Theratope, to battle breast cancer. And biotech leader Chiron(CHIR) is Biomira's partner in producing the vaccine.

The Food & Drug Administration has approved Phase III clinical trials for Theratope, and Biomira will soon announce the enrollment of patients for the trials--at 70 sites in the U.S. and Europe--to evaluate the vaccine's effectiveness in treating metastatic breast cancer in patients who have already undergone chemotherapy.

Karen Boezi of Coral Ventures, which owns about 1 million shares
of Biomira, says Chiron's holding a stake in Theratope adds validity to the undertaking. As results from the trials emerge, Biomira shares, now at 2 1/4, should surge. The market for the vaccine, says Boezi, is ''huge.''