Biotech Analysis

Genentech Deal Looking Better; Avastin Misses in First Adjuvant Trial

Though some analysts believed Genentech Inc. could have gotten more than $95 per share for its remaining minority stake in the $46.8 billion deal with Roche Holdings AG earlier this year, the buyout price was looking pretty good Wednesday, after Genentech reported that cancer drug Avastin (bevacizumab) missed its endpoint in an adjuvant colon cancer study. While results of the study are not expected to have any effect on sales of Avastin in its approved metastatic disease indications, analysts and investors had awaited data from the colon cancer study as a signal for the drug’s potential in the $5 billion adjuvant market.

Gilead Surprises Wall Street with Solid Quarter

Shares of Gilead Sciences Inc. gained more than $3, or 7 percent, in morning trading after the Foster City, Calif.-based firm reported a 21 percent increase in first-quarter profits, beating Wall Street’s expectations. The bulk of the firm’s revenue came from sales of its HIV drugs, including Truvada and Atripla. Meanwhile, shares of Genzyme Corp. lost more than $2 after the Cambridge, Mass.-based company’s revenues missed the mark.

Start-up Archer Looks to Move Quickly

Archer Pharmaceuticals Inc. was founded just late last year with the goal of repurposing an existing drug for Alzheimer’s disease, and the company is looking to raise $25 million to move its two lead compounds to clinical trials in the coming months. Partner discussions with big pharmaceutical companies are going “quite nicely,” Archer founder Michael Mullan said.

Link Between Inflammation, Cancer Clarified

The basic link between chronic inflammation and cancer is well known. But most of its details, as well as when immune activation is helpful and when it makes things worse in cancer, are not. Data presented at the AACR this week, as well as a recent paper in Science, provide new insights into these links.

Also in the News:

Abraxis BioScience, AcelRx, AEterna Zentaris, Affymetrix, Amylin, Avila, BioMarin, Calistoga Pharmaceuticals, Capstone Therapeutics, Celator Pharmaceuticals, Cubist Pharmaceuticals, Curis, Cytokinetics, Genzyme, Geron, Immtech, InteRNA Technologies, Lorus Therapeutics, Med BioGene, Medarex, Micromet, Nektar Therapeutics, NovaBay Pharmaceuticals, Onconova Therapeutics, Oxigene, Pharmos, Scynexis, Topica, Tranzyme Pharma