Analyst Reiterates 'Buy' Rating on ViroPharma After Company Says HCV Promising
Shares of biotech company ViroPharma Inc. climbed in afternoon trading on Tuesday after the drug development company reported positive data from an early-stage clinical study of an experimental drug.
The stock rose $1.37, or 12 percent, to $12.54 in afternoon trading on the Nasdaq. Over the past 52 weeks, the shares have traded in a range of $7.07 and $24.36.
Lazard Capital Markets analyst Joel Sendek maintained a "Buy" rating, and said he was encouraged by the new data.
In the early trial, doses of the drug candidate, HCV-796, were combined with another HCV treatment, pegylated interferon alfa-2b. After 14 days, the combined drugs produced an average viral reduction of nearly 100 percent.
"The data from this Phase I combination trial confirms our previous view that in terms of efficacy, HCV-796 is in mid-range of the drugs in development for HCV," Sendek wrote in a client note.
But Sendek noted that the best way to evaluate HCV-796 is through larger, longer trials with patients who have never received treatment for the disease and patients who haven't yet responded to treatment.
Sendek's price target is $21.
The analyst also expects complete results of the trial to be presented later this year and a mid-stage trial to begin in the fourth quarter.
StemCells (STEM) advanced on word it signed a licensing agreement with Stem Cell Therapeutics, a Canadian biotechnology company engaged in treating central nervous system disorders. Under the agreement, Stem Cell Therapeutics will pay StemCells up-front and license maintenance fees, as well as milestone and royalty payments.
The agreement also provides StemCells with access to the Canadian company's intellectual property portfolio for use in drug discovery, screening and testing. StemCells will pay Stem Cell Therapeutics "a commercially reasonable royalty" that will be negotiated on products developed under the license. Shares of StemCells were up 7.1% to $2.41.
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries (TEVA) was lower after it reached an agreement with Purdue Frederick and its affiliates to settle a patent infringement lawsuit over a generic version of the painkiller OxyContin. Teva expects to eventually stop selling the generic. Its shares slipped 1% to $34.35.
Endo Pharmaceuticals (ENDP) , which also settled a lawsuit regarding generic OxyContin, rose 1.9% to $33.06. Endo will sell its drug until the end of the year.
Shares of biotech company ViroPharma Inc. climbed in afternoon trading on Tuesday after the drug development company reported positive data from an early-stage clinical study of an experimental drug.
The stock rose $1.37, or 12 percent, to $12.54 in afternoon trading on the Nasdaq. Over the past 52 weeks, the shares have traded in a range of $7.07 and $24.36.
Lazard Capital Markets analyst Joel Sendek maintained a "Buy" rating, and said he was encouraged by the new data.
In the early trial, doses of the drug candidate, HCV-796, were combined with another HCV treatment, pegylated interferon alfa-2b. After 14 days, the combined drugs produced an average viral reduction of nearly 100 percent.
"The data from this Phase I combination trial confirms our previous view that in terms of efficacy, HCV-796 is in mid-range of the drugs in development for HCV," Sendek wrote in a client note.
But Sendek noted that the best way to evaluate HCV-796 is through larger, longer trials with patients who have never received treatment for the disease and patients who haven't yet responded to treatment.
Sendek's price target is $21.
The analyst also expects complete results of the trial to be presented later this year and a mid-stage trial to begin in the fourth quarter.
StemCells (STEM) advanced on word it signed a licensing agreement with Stem Cell Therapeutics, a Canadian biotechnology company engaged in treating central nervous system disorders. Under the agreement, Stem Cell Therapeutics will pay StemCells up-front and license maintenance fees, as well as milestone and royalty payments.
The agreement also provides StemCells with access to the Canadian company's intellectual property portfolio for use in drug discovery, screening and testing. StemCells will pay Stem Cell Therapeutics "a commercially reasonable royalty" that will be negotiated on products developed under the license. Shares of StemCells were up 7.1% to $2.41.
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries (TEVA) was lower after it reached an agreement with Purdue Frederick and its affiliates to settle a patent infringement lawsuit over a generic version of the painkiller OxyContin. Teva expects to eventually stop selling the generic. Its shares slipped 1% to $34.35.
Endo Pharmaceuticals (ENDP) , which also settled a lawsuit regarding generic OxyContin, rose 1.9% to $33.06. Endo will sell its drug until the end of the year.
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