EUROPEAN: bourses put in a mixed showing in the week to May 11, with only small up or down movements in the largest markets, despite gyrating through the period. PARIS, saw the CAC 40 rise just 0.3%, with a strong outperformance from Ipsen, which gained 1.9% after posting strong first-quarter results (Marketletter May 11). Sanofi-Aventis gained just 0.5%. With the Xetra Dax down 0.7% in FRANKFURT, there was an 8.4% slump for Merck KGaA, despite the company reporting positive results for its oral cancer drug cladribine (Marketletter May 11). Drug majors Novartis and Roche both underperformed in ZURICH, falling 3.4% and 2.8%, respectively. The latter was not helped by the news that the US Food and Drug Administration had issued an alert that the firm's cancer drug Tarceva (erlotinib) caused gastrointestinal perforations, nor did it benefit from FDA approval the previous week of its Avastin (bevacizumab) in progressive glioblastoma.
LONDON: share prices were strong, with the FTSE 100 rising 4.5% over the reporting period. Alizyme slumped 22.1%, while Sinclair Pharma gained 12.5%, both on no particular news. Drug major AstraZeneca put in a stellar performance, gaining 8.8% on the week, fueled by the news that a head-to-head study of its Brilinta (ticagrelor) met its endpoints versus standard-of-care drug Plavix (clopidogrel) from Sanofi-Aventis (see page 21). However, some observers were a little skeptical that the AZ product could reach the dizzy sales heights of Plavix because, by the time it comes to market, the latter will be off patent - with generic blood-thinners available - and prasugrel from Lilly/Daiichi Sankyo will likely be around.
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Stock Commentary - Europe - week to may 11, 2009
EUROPEAN: bourses put in a mixed showing in the week to May 11, with only small up or down movements in the largest markets, despite gyrating through the period. PARIS, saw the CAC 40 rise just 0.3%, with a strong outperformance from Ipsen, which gained 1.9% after posting strong first-quarter results (Marketletter May 11). Sanofi-Aventis gained just 0.5%. With the Xetra Dax down 0.7% in FRANKFURT, there was an 8.4% slump for Merck KGaA, despite the company reporting positive results for its oral cancer drug cladribine (Marketletter May 11). Drug majors Novartis and Roche both underperformed in ZURICH, falling 3.4% and 2.8%, respectively. The latter was not helped by the news that the US Food and Drug Administration had issued an alert that the firm's cancer drug Tarceva (erlotinib) caused gastrointestinal perforations, nor did it benefit from FDA approval the previous week of its Avastin (bevacizumab) in progressive glioblastoma.
LONDON: share prices were strong, with the FTSE 100 rising 4.5% over the reporting period. Alizyme slumped 22.1%, while Sinclair Pharma gained 12.5%, both on no particular news. Drug major AstraZeneca put in a stellar performance, gaining 8.8% on the week, fueled by the news that a head-to-head study of its Brilinta (ticagrelor) met its endpoints versus standard-of-care drug Plavix (clopidogrel) from Sanofi-Aventis (see page 21). However, some observers were a little skeptical that the AZ product could reach the dizzy sales heights of Plavix because, by the time it comes to market, the latter will be off patent - with generic blood-thinners available - and prasugrel from Lilly/Daiichi Sankyo will likely be around.
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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