All of these companies presented data at the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s (ASCO) annual meeting in Chicago over the weekend and traders are busy pouring over the results before the market opens.
Imclone Systems – (IMCL, $43.58). The stock is down $2.78 to $40.80 in pre-market trading after it was determined (by some) that the company’s drug Erbitux posed no immediate threat to Roche and Genentech’s (DNA, $70.87) cancer blockbuster drug, Avastin. Genentech was up $2.05 to $72.92.
Exelixis (EXEL, $6.32). The company presented early data from XL184 patients that showed encouraging results for medullary thyroid cancer. Although the data was from phase I and II trials, the company plans on starting a pivotal phase III trial this summer.
Acorda Therapeutics (ACOR, $21.56). The stock is up 25%, or $5.38 to $26.94 after reporting that its multiple sclerosis drug, Fampridine, met its goal in a late-stage trial.
Novartis (NVS, $52.35). The company said its drug, Zometa, significantly lowered the risk of a recurrence in early breast cancer in women when used with hormone therapy after surgery.
Wyeth (WYE, $44.47). Wyeth’s cancer treatment drug, Torisel, significantly improved the survival of patients with mantle cell lymphoma which is a form of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a cancer of the organs that make up the body’s immune system.
Rick Rouse
Rick@OptionsMentoring.com