EUROPEAN: bourses moved up and down during the reporting week to February 25, mostly ending with a small overall gain. Going against this trend was FRANKFURT, where the Xetra Dax dipped 1.2% and drug stocks were mixed. SYGNIS failed to benefit from a positive recommendation for European orphan status for its AX200 for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Marketletter February 25), falling 6.5%. Bayer was down 2.3% ahead of presenting full-year 2007 results, while fellow drug major Merck KGaA dipped just 0.1%, having reported its financial figures the previous week. ZURICH saw a strong performance from Roche, which gained on the news that majority-owned Genentech had received an unexpected approval for their jointly-marketed drug Avastin (bevacizumab) for breast cancer in the USA (see page 18). Analysts have said that this indication could result in incremental sales for the drug of $600.0 million this year, rising to $1.5 billion by 2012.
LONDON: share prices had a fairly hectic week, but the FTSE 100 ended the review period up 0.9%, with drug majors AstraZeneca and GlaxoSmithKline little changed, moving down 0.1% and up 0.3%, respectively. The really dramatic action came from Vernalis, which rocketed 74.7% after the company announced a major restructuring program, which would include selling off its Parkinson's disease treatment Apokyn (apomorphine; Marketletter February 25). Meanwhile, Antisoma leapt 21.7%, on the news that it had swung into profit and that its cancer drug AS1409 had moved into clinical trials (see page 28). Shire was up 7.5%, having posted strong 2007 sales and forecasting good prospects for its Vyvanse (see page 5).
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Stock Commentary - Europe - week to Feb 25, 2008
EUROPEAN: bourses moved up and down during the reporting week to February 25, mostly ending with a small overall gain. Going against this trend was FRANKFURT, where the Xetra Dax dipped 1.2% and drug stocks were mixed. SYGNIS failed to benefit from a positive recommendation for European orphan status for its AX200 for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Marketletter February 25), falling 6.5%. Bayer was down 2.3% ahead of presenting full-year 2007 results, while fellow drug major Merck KGaA dipped just 0.1%, having reported its financial figures the previous week. ZURICH saw a strong performance from Roche, which gained on the news that majority-owned Genentech had received an unexpected approval for their jointly-marketed drug Avastin (bevacizumab) for breast cancer in the USA (see page 18). Analysts have said that this indication could result in incremental sales for the drug of $600.0 million this year, rising to $1.5 billion by 2012.
LONDON: share prices had a fairly hectic week, but the FTSE 100 ended the review period up 0.9%, with drug majors AstraZeneca and GlaxoSmithKline little changed, moving down 0.1% and up 0.3%, respectively. The really dramatic action came from Vernalis, which rocketed 74.7% after the company announced a major restructuring program, which would include selling off its Parkinson's disease treatment Apokyn (apomorphine; Marketletter February 25). Meanwhile, Antisoma leapt 21.7%, on the news that it had swung into profit and that its cancer drug AS1409 had moved into clinical trials (see page 28). Shire was up 7.5%, having posted strong 2007 sales and forecasting good prospects for its Vyvanse (see page 5).
This article is accessible to registered users, to continue reading please register for free. A free trial will give you access to exclusive features, interviews, round-ups and commentary from the sharpest minds in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology space for a week. If you are already a registered user please login. If your trial has come to an end, you can subscribe here.
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