Biotech Analysis

Cytokinetics’ Cardio Bet Pays Off with Amgen Option Exercise

Cytokinetics Inc.’s decision to scrap its internal oncology programs and focus on heart failure drug CK-1827452 is looking pretty smart now that partner Amgen Inc. exercised its option on the drug, triggering a $50 million payment to Cytokinetics. Amgen will cover all future expenses, including two ongoing Phase IIa trials, unless Cytokinetics elects to shoulder a portion of the Phase III costs in exchange for a co-promote option. The deal is expected to leave Cytokinetics with about two years worth of cash, much of which the biotech plans to plough into preclinical programs.

MAP Reports Positive Phase III Migraine Study

MAP Pharmaceuticals Inc. reported that its first Phase III trial of Levadex, an orally inhaled migraine therapy, met all four primary endpoints, data that sent its shares soaring by 180 percent in midday trading Tuesday. Additional endpoints showed that the drug candidate provided rapid and sustained pain relief for up to 48 hours after dosing.

UTC’s Shares Rise on Adcirca Approval in PAH

Shares of United Therapeutics Corp. rose 11 percent in morning trading Tuesday after the Silver Spring, Md.-based firm said the FDA approved Adcirca (tadalafil) as the first once-daily oral phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitor for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension, a life-threatening disease that constricts the flow of blood through the pulmonary vasculature. The drug, a 40-mg dosage form of tadalafil, which is marketed at lower dosage forms by Eli Lilly and Co. as Cialis to treat erectile dysfunction, is expected to be a strong competitor against Pfizer Inc.’s PAH drug Revatio (sildenafil citrate).

Cancer, Depression Have Direct Link in Cytokines, Corticosterone

Few people will find it surprising that cancer patients tend to be vulnerable to depression. If a potentially deadly disease is not enough, the ravages - and side effects - of chemotherapy also can be highly disruptive. But there is an increasing understanding that cancer also contributes to a vulnerability to depression directly, through physiological mechanisms. In the May 18, 2009, early online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers from the University of Chicago demonstrated a direct physiological link between cancer and depression, and described its mechanism.

Also in the News:

4SC, Allos Therapeutics, Amarin, Amgen, Astex, Astrazeneca, Beactica, Bioniche, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Cell Genesys, Celleron Therapeutics, Cel-Sci, Chugai Pharmaceutical, Cortex, Cubist Pharmaceuticals, Cytheris, Cytopia, Emisphere Technologies, FIT Biotech, Gene Bridges, Generex Biotechnology, Haemacure, Hemispherx Biopharma, ImmunoVaccine Technologies, KineMed, Logical Therapeutics, Lux Biosciences, Medinox, NanoViricides, Oscient Pharmaceuticals, Prospect Therapeutics, Senesco, Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, Vaxart, Vical, Viropharma