Alliance and Baxter lifted by positive Phase III blood substitute data

Alliance Pharmaceuticals saw its shares rise 21% to $3.48 on April 9,after the results of a Phase III trial of its experimental blood substitute Oxygent (perflubron emulsion) confirmed that the program is back on track. The latest rise in the firm's share price continues a trend started in mid-March, when preliminary indications of a positive outcome in the program first surfaced (Marketletter March 19).

Alliance's commercial partner for the drug in the USA, Canada and Europe, Baxter Healthcare, also saw its shares rise slightly, up 80 cents to $90.84.

The future of the whole program looked in jeopardy at the beginning of this year, when Alliance voluntarily suspended enrollment in clinical trials after a possible risk of excess adverse events, primarily stroke, was seen in a trial of Oxygent in cardiac surgery patients (Marketletter January 15). Alliance recently reported that the imbalance seemed to be a consequence of problems with the study's protocol.