Posts Tagged ‘healthcare’

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Marshall Edwards, Inc. (MSHL) grows from publication of new study

Wednesday, July 27th, 2011

Marshall Edwards, Inc.(Nasdaq: MSHL) shares leaped 172.7% to $3.19, after it announced the publication of results from a pre-clinical study of NV-128 showing activity in chemotherapy-resistant ovarian cancer stem cells. Volume for the stock topped 2.5 million shares, dwarfing a daily average around 75,000.

The San Diego-based Marshall Edwards, an oncology company focused on the clinical development of novel therapeutics targeting cancer metabolism, announced in news release dated July 27 the publication of results from a pre-clinical study of NV-128 showing activity in chemotherapy-resistant ovarian cancer stem cells. NV-128 is the prodrug of the Company’s investigational compound and lead mitochondrial inhibitor drug candidate, NV-344.

The publication, entitled “Targeting the mitochondria activates two independent cell death pathways in the ovarian cancer stem cells,” is available on the Molecular Cancer Therapeutics website and scheduled to print in the August issue of the journal.

Previous studies conducted at Yale University showed that NV-128 is able to inhibit tumor growth in an ovarian cancer animal model without inducing significant toxicity, suggesting a sufficient therapeutic window that may allow compounds of this class to be safely administered to patients. Marshall Edwards plans to complete the required pre-clinical studies of NV-344 to submit an Investigational New Drug (IND) application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) by the first quarter of 2012.

In the same release, company CEO Daniel Gold said, “This study exemplifies the importance of our ongoing collaboration with … Yale University as well as our continuing commitment to enhancing our pipeline of novel drug candidates.

“We are excited about the progress we are making with both of our lead candidates, NV-143 and NV-344, and look forward to reporting on their clinical development in the months ahead.” Gold concluded.

Marshall Edwards, Inc. is focused on the clinical development of novel anti-cancer therapeutics. The Company’s lead programs focus on two families of small molecules that result in the inhibition of tumor cell metabolism.

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Buyout target Immucor Inc. (BLUD) balloons in price

Tuesday, July 5th, 2011

Immucor Inc. (Nasdaq: BLUD) shares surged 30.2% to $26.98 after the provider of blood-transfusion systems agreed to be acquired by TPG Capital for $1.97 billion. Shares in the company totaled 21.6, or more than 40 times its normal daily average.

The company, based in Norcross, Ga., issued a release July 5 saying that, under the terms of the agreement, Immucor shareholders will receive $27.00 in cash for each share of Immucor common stock they own, representing a premium of approximately 30.2% over the closing share price on July 1, 2011, the last full trading day before today’s announcement, and a premium of approximately 35.6% to Immucor’s average closing price over the last month. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2011. The agreement was unanimously approved by the Immucor Board of Directors.

“This transaction enables our shareholders to realize significant, immediate value while at the same time allowing Immucor to remain well-positioned to continue pursuinggrowth opportunities,” said Joseph Rosen, Immucor Board Chairman in the release.

“Our Board is pleased with the outcome of the process we followed leading to this transaction, and believes that this transaction is in the best interests of our shareholders.”

Founded in 1982, Immucor manufactures and sells a complete line of reagents and systems used by hospitals, reference laboratories and donor centers to detect and identify certain properties of the cell and serum components of blood prior to transfusion

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Zalicus Inc. (ZLCS) gains from ratings boost

Tuesday, July 5th, 2011

Zalicus Inc. (Nasdaq: ZLCS) shares rose 11.6% to $2.60 after Oppenheimer & Co. initiated coverage of the drug-development firm with an outperform rating. Volume for the stock was 2.1 million shares, outdistancing its all-day average.

An article posted Tuesday on the site benzinga.com reported that Oppenheimer analysts also set a $4.00 price target on the stock.

“Zalicus has one approved drug and a pipeline of promising candidates targeting potentially large commercial opportunities,” the site quotes Oppenheimer as writing. “The leading drugs in the pipeline are Synavive, which is in development for rheumatoid arthritis, and Prednisporin, an agent for allergic conjuctivitis (eye allergies).

“Additionally, Zalicus has two drug discovery platforms—one focused on finding synergies between two pharmaceutical agents and another is aimed at the discovery of new ion channel modulators. Both may produce additional drug candidates for clinical development and/or partnering.”

Zalicus management was not available for comment. Zalicus, based in Cambridge, Mass., is a biopharmaceutical company that discovers and develops novel treatments for patients suffering from pain and immuno-inflammatory diseases.

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Icagen Inc. (ICGN) takes flight on hint of Pfizer takeover

Monday, June 27th, 2011

Icagen Inc. (Nasdaq: ICGN) shares rocketed 113.8% to $5.13 after drug manufacturer Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) said in a regulatory filing late Friday that it was looking at a possible strategic alliance with the biopharmaceutical company. Volume for Icagen totaled 1.8 million shares in the early trading hours of Monday, compared to an all-day average of 71,000.

A news release was issued soon after the market closed on Friday, June 24. In the release, Icagen put out a statement in which it acknowledged that it is currently engaged in preliminary discussions with Pfizer regarding a potential strategic transaction, but, quote “no definitive agreement has been reached.

“There can be no assurance that any agreement will be reached,” the statement continued, “or that a transaction will be consummated. Icagen does not plan to make future announcements with respect to this matter unless and until its Board of Directors has approved a specific transaction or an extension or other modification of the existing collaboration agreement and it has entered into a definitive agreement or the current discussions have terminated.”

Icagen, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company based in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of novel orally-administered small molecule drugs that modulate ion channel targets. Utilizing its proprietary know-how and integrated scientific and drug development capabilities, Icagen has identified multiple drug candidates that modulate ion channels.

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OXiGENE Inc. (OXGN) surges on new cancer treatment

Monday, June 6th, 2011

OXiGENE Inc. (Nasdaq: OXGN) shares rose 13.8% to $4.87, after the biotech company on Saturday reported encouraging data on a potential treatment for non-small cell lung cancer. Share volume for the stock tallied 2.3 million shares, already surpassing an all-day high of 1.7 million.

The San Francisco-based company announced Saturday that it presented updated safety and clinical activity data from the FALCON trial, a stratified randomized, controlled Phase 2 study of ZYBRESTAT™ (fosbretabulin tromethamine, or CA4P) in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), at the 2011 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in Chicago.

An updated analysis conducted approximately 11 months after the enrollment of the last patient in June 2010 showed that the combination regimen of ZYBRESTAT plus bevacizumab, carboplatin and paclitaxel (ZYBRESTAT Arm) was observed to be well-tolerated with no significant cumulative toxicities when compared with the control arm of the study. In addition, a pre-specified subgroup analysis showed meaningful improvements in median time to progression for patients with poor performance status.

Said Dr. Peter Langecker, CEO of OXiGENE, “With several clinical trials completed in multiple indications, we now have a large body of data showing the excellent combinability potential of ZYBRESTAT.

“In addition,” Langecker continued, “this study provides data in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) suggesting that ZYBRESTAT may benefit patients with more advanced stages of disease…. We believe that designing a development plan based on targeting this subgroup of patients could represent a sensible and achievable clinical strategy and we look forward to discussing further development of ZYBRESTAT with potential pharmaceutical partners.”

OXiGENE is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapeutics to treat cancer and eye diseases. The Company’s major focus is developing vascular disrupting agents that selectively disrupt abnormal blood vessels associated with solid tumor progression and visual impairment.

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