Posts Tagged ‘biotech’

Vermillion Inc. (VRML) jumps on patent news

Wednesday, September 14th, 2011

Vermillion Inc. (Nasdaq: VRML) shares climbed 23.7% to $3.03 after the diagnostics company said it had been issued a patent called “serum biomarkers in lung cancer.” Volume for the stock totaled more than 826,000 shares, compared to an all-day average of less than 153,000.

A press release out Sept. 6 announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) had issued to the Company patent number 8,014,952 for the serum.

Said Vermillion CEO Gail Page, “This patent highlights on-going progress in expanding our intellectual property portfolio. Beyond our core focus areas of ovarian cancer and peripheral artery disease, we now have patents in lung cancer, breast cancer, and Alzheimer’s disease. It is our goal to explore business opportunities to leverage this growing and valuable asset of the Company.”

Based in Austin, Vermillion, Inc. is dedicated to the discovery, development and commercialization of novel high-value diagnostic tests that help physicians diagnose, treat and improve outcomes for patients.

Pharmasset Inc. (VRUS) jumps on drug findings

Tuesday, September 6th, 2011

Pharmasset Inc. (Nasdaq: VRUS) shares rose 5.2% to $67.55 after the drug developer released preliminary findings from a study of its Hepatitis C treatment. Volume for the stock was 658,000 shares, or about half its daily average.

A news release out September 6 noted that the Princeton, New Jersey-based company announced today sustained virologic response (SVR) results from its phase 2b PROTON study with PSI-7977 400 mg dosed once daily in combination with peginterferon alfa 2a and ribavirin (Peg-IFN/RBV) in subjects with hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 1 who have not been treated previously.

In all, 95 treatment-naive patients with HCV genotype 1 were enrolled into two open-label arms of the PROTON trial, receiving either PSI-7977 200 mg QD (N=48) or 400 mg QD (N=47) for 12 weeks. Individuals in both arms received Peg-IFN/RBV for 24 weeks and were followed post-treatment to assess SVR12.

What’s more, 26 subjects were enrolled in a placebo control arm and are receiving 48 weeks of Peg-IFN/RBV. Results from this study through the SVR12 endpoint are scheduled to be presented as part of a Presidential Plenary Session at the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) meeting on Tuesday, November 8, 2011.

“I am very pleased with the results of this study which clearly demonstrate the benefit of the 400 mg dose of PSI-7977 with only 24 weeks of interferon for all subjects,” Dr. Eric Lawitz, the study’s principal investigator, was quoted in the release as saying. “HCV therapy is becoming overly complex, and the elimination of 24 weeks of interferon and ribavirin as well as all response guided criteria for patients with HCV genotype 1 would be a welcomed simplification.”

Pharmasset is a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company committed to discovering, developing, and commercializing novel drugs to treat viral infections.

Response Genetics, Inc. (RGDX) wins new assignment, stock soars

Wednesday, August 31st, 2011

Response Genetics, Inc. (Nasdaq: RGDX) shares hiked 10.6% to $2.40, on word of a new contract. Volume for the stock was a mere 500 shares, in contrast to a daily average of 12,000.

A news release out August 31 declared that XIFIN Inc., the company revolutionizing revenue cycle management for diagnostic service providers, announced today that Response Genetics had implemented XIFIN’s revenue cycle management system to optimize billing and claims management and help manage cash collections.

The release quoted David O’Toole, Vice President and CFO at Response Genetics as saying, “We believe XIFIN’s expertise in molecular diagnostic billing best positioned us to effectively manage RGI’s cash flow while bringing billing and collections in-house during a period of tremendous company growth and also to meet the stringent regulatory requirements for public companies.”

The Los Angeles-based Response Genetics, Inc., a leading developer of molecular diagnostic tests for cancer including ResponseDX: Lung(TM), ResponseDX: Colon(TM) and ResponseDX: Gastric(TM), has implemented XIFIN’s revenue cycle management system to optimize billing and claims management and help manage cash collections.

Avago Technologies Limited (AVGO) posts strong Q3 results, stock spikes

Wednesday, August 24th, 2011

Avago Technologies Limited (Nasdaq : AVGO) shares raced ahead 8.9% to $31.87 Wednesday, a day after announcing strong third-quarter results. Volume for the stock topped 3.3 million, already surpassing its daily average of 2.7 million.

A news release issued August 23 pointed to net revenue of $603 million, an increase of 10% from the same quarter last year.

Gross margin was $297 million, or 49.3% of net revenue. This compares with gross margin of $263 million, or 47.8% of net revenue in the same quarter last year.

Third quarter net income was $144 million, or $0.57 per diluted share. This compares with net income of $123 million, or $0.50 per diluted share in the same quarter last year.

The same release quoted Avago CEO Hock Tan as saying, “During the third quarter of fiscal 2011, our four target markets performed as we expected and we outperformed these markets as our revenue growth for the quarter came in at the high end of guidance.

“While uncertainties prevail in the global economy today, we continue to believe revenue will grow for the balance of the fiscal year due to share gains with certain wireless and wired OEMs.”

Avago Technologies Limited, based in San Jose, California, is a leading designer, developer and global supplier of a broad range of analog semiconductor devices with a focus on III-V based products.

Delcath Systems Inc. (DCTH) shares climb as cancer drug shows promise

Monday, August 22nd, 2011

Delcath Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: DCTH) shares rose 8.5% to $3.96 after it said its experimental cancer treatment showed promising results in a mid-stage trial. Volume for the stock approached 315,000 as noon ET closed in; its all-day average is around 861,000.

A Reuters article published Monday noted that the study included four patient cohorts — hepatobiliary cancers, and metastatic cancers of neuroendocrine, ocular or cutaneous melanoma, and colorectal origins — but responses to the treatment were most encouraging for hepatocellular carcinoma, the most common primary cancer of the liver.

“We believe these results show a strong signal of efficacy, and support our plan to initiate Phase III and Phase IV trials for HCC in the second half of 2012,” Chief Executive Eamonn Hobbs was quoted in the article as saying.

Delcath is developing a chemosaturation system that is designed to administer high dose chemotherapy drugs to only the diseased organs or regions of the body, thereby restricting the harsh effects of chemo drugs on other body organs.

Delcath, headquartered in midtown Manhattan, is a development-stage, specialty pharmaceutical and medical device company focused on oncology. We’re researching breakthroughs in regional chemotherapies with the goal of improving clinical outcomes and potentially reducing drug-related adverse events.