Weekly Movers: Relypsa, Titan Pharma, Allergan…
pharmafile | June 6, 2016 | Feature | Research and Development, Sales and Marketing | Stock, drug trial, research, stock market
The prestigious ASCO meet is underway and results of new drug trials will be a key stock mover over the week. Study results from the big pharma including Merck, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Roche, Pfizer and AstraZeneca will be keenly watched. Drug trials remained the major theme for stock movements over the past days
Here’s a quick look at some of the biggest movers of the week:
Shares of Relypsa (Nasdaq: RLYP) advanced to gain over 9% after the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rejected AstraZeneca’s (LSE: AZN) competing potassium-lowering drug. Relypsa received regulatory approval for its own potassium-lowering drug Veltassa last October.
Titan Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: TTNP) share fell 3% after climbing for two weeks as the FDA approved its Probuphine subdermal implant. The implant, which uses Titan’s proprietary ProNeura technology, delivers buprenorphine continuously for up to six months.
Shares in Botox-maker Allergan (NYSE: AGN) raced to gain over 3% after billionaire investor Carl Icahn announced he has picked a “large stake” in the company.
Icahn said he has acquired a large position in Allergan without specifying the details. He also said that he is very supportive of Allergan Chief Executive Brent Saunders.
“We have every confidence in Brent’s ability to enhance value for all Allergan shareholders,” Icahn said in a statement.
In April, drug maker Pfizer’s (NYSE: PFE) $160 billion merger deal with Allergan was terminated by mutual agreement.
Dermira Inc (Nasdaq: DERM) stock rose over a percent after late stage trials for sweat-blocking drug showed significant improvements. The company said the drug candidate demonstrated improvements in one of the co-primary endpoints and both secondary endpoints.
Sarepta Therapeutics (Nasdaq: SRPT) stock plunged over 20% after the Food and Drug Administration announced new guidance about compensation for patients with serious diseases granted access to not-yet-approved drugs.
The FDA measures will attempt to reduce procedural burdens on physicians seeking to apply for patients to access drugs on “compassionate grounds”.
The guidance also says that while the FDA can’t decide how the company charges for the drug, the regulator anticipates that the sponsor would ordinarily charge a patient directly or would charge a third-party payer if reimbursements were available.
Last week, Sarepta said the FDA would not meet the May 26 deadline for a decision about the company’s Duchenne muscular dystrophy drug.
Shares in Achaogen (Nasdaq: AKAO) jumped nearly 13% following news it has secured $20 million for an additional option on its existing contract with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority.
The company also announced that it has achieved over 50% patient enrolment in its ongoing Phase III trials for plazomicin.
Immunomedics (Nasdaq: IMMU) stock plunged over 16% after reports the company was trying to use previously presented clinical data for its breast cancer drug into the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting.
Immunomedics said the complaint appears to have been made by a third party. Chief Executive Cynthia Sullivan said she was trying to get ASCO to reverse its decision.
Anjali Shukla
Related Content
Drug discovery and development partnership announced between Apollo Therapeutics and Oxford University
Portfolio therapeutics company Apollo Therapeutics has announced earlier this week that it will provide capital …
Bayer and Aignostics to collaborate for AI oncology research
Bayer and Aignostics have announced that they have entered into a strategic collaboration for several …
BMS shares new research and development plans at the company’s R&D day
Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) recently held a Research and Development (R&D) Day in New York, …
