Chelsea Therapeutics International Ltd. (CHTP) rises on FDA nod for Northera

Posted on Friday, February 24th, 2012

Chelsea Therapeutics CHTPShares of Charlotte-based drug maker, Chelsea Therapeutics International Ltd. (Nasdaq: CHTP) were up as much as 69 percent from Thursday’s closing price on Friday after it was announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration voted in favor of recommending Chelsea’s neurological drug, Northera, for approval.

Chelsea Therapeutics shares touched a high of $4.09 on Friday, up from Thursday’s closing price of $2.41.

“We believe our clinical data demonstrates the significant symptomatic benefit of Northera treatment across a broad range of Neurogenic OH symptoms,” said Chelsea Therapeutics’ CEO Dr. Simon Pedder in a statement. “Since no other treatment has been proven to alleviate the symptoms of neurogenic OH or improve patients’ ability to carry out activities of daily living, we continue to believe Northera could fill this unmet need for patients with Parkinson’s disease, MSA, PAF and other neurologic diseases. We are pleased by today’s panel vote and we look forward to continuing to work with the FDA in advance of the March 28, 2012 PDUFA action date.”

Northera is the lead investigational agent in Chelsea’s pipeline, and has has been studied in two Phase III clinical trials for the treatment of symptomatic neurogenic orthostatic hypotension in patients with primary autonomic failure — a group of diseases that includes Parkinson’s disease, multiple system atrophy (MSA) and pure autonomic failure (PAF). Droxidopa is a synthetic catecholamine that is directly converted to norepinephrine (NE) via decarboxylation, resulting in increased levels of NE in the nervous system, both centrally and peripherally.

Chlesea Therapeutics submitted a New Drug Application (NDA) for Northera in September 2011. The drug was previously granted Orphan Drug Designation, which is granted by the FDA to treatments for rare diseases and disorders.

 


Vringo Inc VRNG surges on news of new technology for Nokia, Facebook

Posted on Tuesday, January 31st, 2012

Vringo Inc VRNG surges on newsShares of software provider Vringo Inc (AMEX: VRNG) were up as much as 35% from Mondays closing price of 1.16 after the company announced it has released a new version of Facetones™ customized for the latest mobile devices released by Nokia.

The Facetones app is integrated with Facebook and generates an automatic, visually exciting slideshow of photos displaying your friend’s face and other social content each time you communicate with that friend using your mobile device.  With Vringo’s latest version of Facetones , the application is now fully optimized for Nokia’s Symbian^3 operating system.

The free ad supported app has been a viral hit for Vringo and is closing in on one million downloads. VRNG monetizes this app using Google’s Admob mobile advertising service and it is currently generating 800,000- 900,000 ad impressions per day.

About Vringo

Vringo (AMEX: VRNG) is a provider of software platforms for mobile social and video applications. With its award-winning video ringtone application and other mobile software platforms – including Facetones™, Video Remix and Fan Loyalty – Vringo transforms the basic act of making and receiving mobile phone calls into a highly visual, social experience. Vringo’s video ringtone service enables users to create or take video, images and slideshows from virtually anywhere and turn it into their visual call signature. In a first for the mobile industry, Vringo has introduced its patented VringForward technology, which allows users to share video clips with friends with a simple call.  Vringo’s Facetones™ application creates an automated video slideshow using friends’ photos from social media web sites, which is played each time a user communicates with a friend using a mobile device. Vringo’s Video ReMix application, in partnership with music artists and brands, allows users to create their own music video by tapping on a Smartphone or tablet.  Lastly, Fan Loyalty is a platform that lets users interact, vote and communicate with contestants in reality TV series that it partners with, as well as downloading and setting clips from such shows as video ringtones. Vringo’s video ringtone application has been heralded by The New York Times as “the next big thing in ringtones” and USA Today said it has “to be seen to be believed.” For more information, visit: www.vringo.com


Caterpillar Inc CAT profits soars to 60 percent

Posted on Thursday, January 26th, 2012

Caterpillar Inc CAT Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CATreported a 60 percent rise in quarterly earnings that exceeded Wall Street expectations on record sales of construction and mining equipment, and projected growth for 2011. Fourth-quarter sales and revenues in 2011 were an all-time quarterly record at $17.243 billion, an increase of 35 percent compared with $12.807 billion in the fourth quarter of 2010. Fourth-quarter profit was $1.547 billion compared with $968 million in the fourth quarter of 2010. Profit of $2.32 per share was 58 percent higher than the $1.47 per share in the fourth quarter of 2010.

The growth of Caterpiller is a positive indicator in the strength of the global economy and in construction spending in the United States. Caterpillar credits the incredible growth to many of its customers replacing aging equipment and rapid growth in developing parts of the world.

“Our strategy is squarely focused on customers, and in 2011 our employees, suppliers and dealers delivered. We improved product quality, invested significantly in manufacturing capacity and product  development, and improved our market position.” said Caterpillar Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Doug Oberhelman.

About Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT)

Caterpillar Inc. is a corporation which designs, manufactures, markets and sells machinery and engines and sells financial products and insurance to customers via a worldwide dealer network. Caterpillar is the world’s largest manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines and industrial gas turbines.  With more than US$70 billion in assets, Caterpillar was ranked number one in its industry and number 44 overall in the 2009 Fortune 500. Caterpillar stock is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average.


Inhibitex Inc INHX shares more than double on buyout news

Posted on Monday, January 9th, 2012

Inhibitex Inc INHXShares of  hepatitis C drug developer Inhibitex, Inc. (Nasdaq: INHX) were up more than 140 percent from Friday’s closing price in morning trading on Monday after it was announced over  the weekend that pharmaceutical giant Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY) made a $26 a share cash  to acquire Inhibitex.

The $26 cash offer for Alpharetta-based Inhibitex represents a 163 premium to Friday’s closing price of $9.87.

“The acquisition of Inhibitex builds on Bristol-Myers Squibb’s long history of discovering, developing and delivering innovative new medicines in virology and enriches our portfolio of investigational medicines for hepatitis C,” said Lamberto Andreotti, chief executive officer, Bristol-Myers Squibb in a January 7 press release. “There is significant unmet medical need in hepatitis C. This acquisition represents an important investment in the long-term growth of the company.”

Inhibitex’s lead hepatitis C asset  is INX-189, an oral nucleotide polymerase (NS5B) inhibitor in Phase II development that has exhibited potent antiviral activity, a high barrier to resistance and pan-genotypic coverage.

“The addition of Inhibitex’s nucleotide polymerase inhibitor to our own promising portfolio, which includes other direct-acting antivirals, brings additional options to develop all-oral regimens with better cure rates, shorter duration of therapy and lower toxicity than the current standard of care,” said Elliott Sigal, M.D., Ph.D., executive vice president, chief scientific officer and president, R&D, Bristol-Myers Squibb said in a statement.

The transaction is expected to be dilutive to earnings for Bristol-Myers Squibb through 2016, with an expected impact on earnings per share of approximately $0.04 in 2012 and approximately $0.05 in 2013, the January 7 press release stated.

About Inhibitex, Inc. (Nasdaq: INHX)

Inhibitex, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing products to prevent and treat serious infectious diseases. The Company’s clinical-stage pipeline includes two Phase 2 development programs for which it has retained all future rights: INX-189, a nucleotide polymerase inhibitor in development for the treatment of chronic HCV infections, and FV-100, a nucleoside analogue in development for the treatment of shingles-associated pain. The Company also has additional HCV nucleotide polymerase inhibitors in preclinical development and has licensed the use of its proprietary MSCRAMM® protein platform to Pfizer for the development of a staphylococcal vaccine, which is currently being evaluated in a Phase 1/2 clinical trial.

For additional information about the Company, please visit www.inhibitex.com.


RiT Technologies Ltd. (RITT) rises on news of expansion in Africa

Posted on Tuesday, December 6th, 2011

Shares of communications network solutions provider RiT Technologies Ltd. (RITT) rose as much as 47 percent from Monday’s closing price in morning trading on Tuesday. RITT touched a high of $4.75 on Tuesday morning, up from Monday’s closing price of $3.22.

On Tuesday, the Tel Aviv-based RiT Technologies announced that it appointed Peter Leonard to become its Country Sales Manager for South Africa. According to a December 6 press release, RiT’s has built momentum in the region over the past year, beginning with sales to Botswana Teclecommunications Corp. and Vodafone Ghana, and followed by the signing of distribution/marketing agreements with Kenya’s Adwest communications, Mart Network Solutions/Giganet Networking Solutions and Adcare.

RiT Technologies’ president and CEO, Eran Ayzik commented that Africa is a “land in transformation, and a key enabler of change is the ongoing overhaul of its communications and IT networks.”

The company has also increased its presence in China, opening a new office in Shanghai several months ago as part of its strategic focus on the Chinese market.

“The establishment of our second office in Chinademonstrates the success of our strategy to build our business in this rapidly-growing market with high potential for IIM sales,” Ayzik said in a September 13 press release.  “Our unique approach to the market, including our partnership with superbly qualified, well-connected integrators and the offering of customized solutions, has started to pay off, and we believe thatChina will continue growing in importance as a driver of our future sales.”

For the third quarter ended September 30, RiT Technologies reported revenue of $3.7 million, a 38 percent increase over revenue of $2.7 million in the same period a year ago, and a 7 percent sequential increase over the second quarter. The company’s third quarter net loss increased 1 percent to $854,000 or 19 cents per share, compared to a net loss of $843,000 or 26 cents per share for the third quarter of 2010.

“Our third quarter results reflect continued strong momentum in the areas of product development, partnership building and marketing & sales, all of which are creating a solid platform for future growth,” Ayzik said in an October 26 press release. ” Our efforts to broaden our sales and marketing activities are raising RiT’s exposure in emerging markets and enabling us to better serve our customers. This was highlighted during the quarter by our opening of a second sales office in China. And we intend to duplicate this effort in other high growth, emerging regions.”Parallel to our marketing activities, we continue to develop our product portfolio, improve our supply chain and deepen our strategic partnerships in order to well-position the Company for further growth.”

Shares of RITT are down about 6 percent in the past three months.