Headline EventAnalyzer: Weekly Market Movers (to 25 Sep 2009)
Source EP Vantage
Company GeoVax Labs 
Related: Abraxis BioScience, ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Basilea Pharmaceutica, Biocon, BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Cell Therapeutics, Chelsea Therapeutics, Cytokinetics, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, Genta, Immunosyn, Inspire Pharmaceuticals, Keryx Biopharmaceuticals, Micromet, Nektar Therapeutics, Nutra Pharma, Questcor Pharmaceuticals, Torrent Pharmaceuticals, Transition Therapeutics, Zeltia 
Date September 28, 2009
 

EvaluatePharma’s EventAnalyzer delivers a weekly global round up of key events driving company valuations.

Detailing the previous week’s top 15 market gains and losses, aligned with significant news flow driving share prices, the EventAnalyzer keeps you in touch with the latest market moves.

Top 15 Gains (%) - ranked on change in share price

      Performance: Fri 25 Sep vs. Fri 18 Sep   
Rank  Company  Listed Currency  Share Price Change  Market Cap (US$m)  Market Cap Change  Notes on Change 
1  GeoVax Labs   USD  +71%  183  +77  24 Sep: Shares rise on news of encouraging phase III data in a trial in Thailand for an HIV/AIDS vaccine owned by  Sanofi-Aventis, in which the drug shows prevention of infection, raising hopes for GeoVax's own vaccine, DNA/MVA Vaccine, currently in phase II development, which has a similar mechanism of action.  
2  Nutra Pharma   USD  +64%  168  +66  21 Sep: Company announces its intention to begin the registration process in Canada and Europe for its OTC pain reliever which is similar to the drug Cobroxin; company also plans to launch Cobroxin as an oral spray in Oct, for the treatment of lower back pain, migraines, neck aches, shoulder pain, cramps and neuralgia, and as a topical gel for joint and arthritis pain.  
3  Zeltia   EUR  +38%  1511  +419  25 Sep: Company receives a positive recommendation from the European Medicines Agency for Yondelis for the treatment of ovarian cancer.  
4  Keryx Biopharmaceuticals   USD  +25%  128  +26  23 Sep: Company announces positive results from an Open Label Extension phase II trial of Zerenex (ferric citrate) for the treatment of elevated serum phosphorous levels, or hyperphosphataemia, in patients with end-stage renal disease on dialysis.  
5  Genta   USD  +25%  163  +59  Share rise on heavy volumes across the week, peaking at 3.5x average daily volume on 23 Sep. 
6  Transition Therapeutics   CAD  +25%  187  +37  22 Sep: Shares rise on 5.5x average daily trading volume. 
7  Cytokinetics   USD  +25%  303  +60  18 Sep: Company highlights the progress and expansion of its drug development programs at its research and development day with a new strategy to focus on its muscle biology program, impressing analysts, who are now viewing the company's skeletal muscle activator program as its main growth driver.
 21 Sep: Wedbush Morgan maintains an "outperform" rating and raises price target to $18 from $4, citing the opportunity for the company's skeletal muscle activator program.
 25 Sep: Shares rise on 6x average daily trading volume amid rumours that Amgen is considering making a takeover bid for the company. Source: TheStreet.com.   
8  Sucampo Pharmaceuticals   USD  +18%  243  +38   
9  Nektar Therapeutics   USD  +18%  923  +139  21 Sep: Company licenses worldwide rights for its pain treatments NKTR-118 and  NKTR-119 to  AstraZeneca for an upfront payment of $125m, aggregate payments of $235m for  NKTR-118, milestone payments of $375m and double-digit royalties on sales; AstraZeneca plans to file for approval for  NKTR-118 by 2013. Brean Murray Carret and Co reiterates "buy" rating but raises price target to $12 from $10.
 22 Sep: Company reports positive phase I and pre-clinical data for NKTR-102 in ovarian cancer at ECCO-ESMO meeting, and commences phase II trial for the drug in platinum-resistant ovarian cancer ahead of schedule.  
10  Abraxis BioScience   USD  +16%  1373  +191  25 Sep: Shares rise on 2x average daily trading volume. 
11  Dr. Reddy's Laboratories   INR  +14%  3435  +421   21 Sep: Shares rise on speculation that GlaxoSmithKline is considering buying a 5% stake in the company.
 25 Sep: Morgan Stanley upgrades rating to "overweight" from "equal weight", claiming that the company is poised for gains over the next six months with revenue boosts from potential future products including a generic version of allergy medication, Allegra D24.   
12  Ranbaxy Laboratories   INR  +14%  3557  +429   
13  Basilea Pharmaceutica   CHF  +14%  967  +116  23 Sep: Shares rise on 4.5x average daily trading volume. 
14  Torrent Pharmaceuticals   INR  +11%  524  +53  25 Sep: Shares rise on 5.5x average daily trading volume. 
15  Biocon   INR  +10%  1064  +99  25 Sep: Shares rise on 2.5x average daily trading volume. 

Excludes companies with a market cap. movement of less than US$25m.

Top 15 Losses (%) - ranked on change in share price

      Performance: Fri 25 Sep vs. Fri 18 Sep    
Rank  Company  Listed Currency  Share Price Change  Market Cap (US$m)  Market Cap Change  Notes on Change 
1  Immunosyn   USD  -63%  28  -53  Share fall on heavy volumes across the week, peaking at 5x average daily volume on 23 Sep; the company denied rumours suggesting that it is actively exploring a change of control transaction, on 18 Sep. 
2  Chelsea Therapeutics   USD  -60%  91  -140  24 Sep: Company reports phase III data from the first of two trials for Droxidopa, for the treatment of symptomatic neurogenic orthostatic hypotension, in which the drug fails to meet its primary endpoint of improving symptoms of dizziness compared to placebo. 
3  Novavax   USD  -27%  355  -130   
4  Inovio Biomedical  USD  -21%  149  -39   
5  Questcor Pharmaceuticals   USD  -20%  344  -86  21 Sep: Company announces that it is expecting lower sales of Acthar, for the treatment of infantile spasm, in Q3 2009, impacted by a combination of a lower national birth rate in 2008-2009 and normal significant variability in prescription activity in the patient population. 
6  Cell Therapeutics   USD  -20%  694  -174  23 Sep: Company confirms that it has withdrawn its European marketing application for Opaxio, for the treatment of lung cancer, due to concerns raised by an EU advisory panel over the trial design; the company had earlier stated that it was withdrawing the application in order to focus on filing for the drug as a maintenance therapy for ovarian cancer.
     25 Sep: Company's CEO, James A. Bianco, sells 318,621 of his company shares for $1.19 per share. 
7  Inspire Pharmaceuticals   USD  -18%  430  -97  23 Sep: Wedbush Morgan downgrades rating to "neutral" from "outperform" with a price target of $15, citing risks with the company's developing glaucoma treatments, INS115644 and  INS117548, and a lack of upcoming catalysts.  
8  SuperGen   USD  -18%  159  -34   
9  BioCryst Pharmaceuticals   USD  -18%  317  -68  24 Sep: Shares fall despite the company being awarded a $77.2m contract modification by the US Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) to complete phase 3 development of its influenza drug, peramivir, on 21 Sep. 
10  Micromet   USD  -17%  474  -95  21 Sep: Ladenburg Thalmann downgrades rating to "neutral" from "buy", stating that the company's shares have reached the firm's price target of $7. 
11  Oncothyreon   USD  -16%  136  -27   
12  Lexicon Pharmaceuticals   USD  -14%  279  -45   
13  ARIAD Pharmaceuticals   USD  -13%  238  -35  21 Sep: Company announces phase I data for oral ridaforolimus in combination with  Avastin in heavily pretreated patients with  refractory metastatic solid tumours, which suggests a risk of serious gastrointestinal adverse events in some patients with metastatic disease receiving the combination of full doses of the drugs.  
14  QLT   USD  -13%  205  -30   
15  Immunomedics   USD  -12%  417  -55   

Excludes companies with a market cap. movement of less than US$25m.

Disclaimer:
The above analysis is based on daily share prices supplied to EvaluatePharma Ltd by a third party. EvaluatePharma Ltd accepts no responsibility or liability for the accuracy of the data presented here. Neither should any data presented here be construed as a solicitation or offer to buy or sell any securities or related financial instruments.
 

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