Top Health Care Stocks
JNJ -0.51%
PFE -0.23%
ABT +0.23%
MRK +0.82%
AMGN -0.76%
Health care stocks were mostly lower in late trade, including a more than 0.1% decline for the NYSE Health Care Index in recent trade. Also today, shares of health care companies in the S&P 500 were down slightly less than 0.1% as a group while the Nasdaq Biotechnology index was gaining more than 0.5% today.
Among health care stocks moving on news:
+ Sarepta Therapeutics ( SRPT ) streaked to an 18-year high on Monday, climbing more than 6% to its best price since March 2000 at $74.36 a share, after saying it plans to complete a rolling submission of its golodirsen prospective treatment for Duchenne muscular dystrophy after receiving input from an FDA advisory panel. Based on minutes from the company's meeting last month with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Division of Neurology Products, together with results from a Phase I/II trial of the phosphordiamidate morpholino oligimer, the company expects it will submit the new drug application for golodirsen by the end of the year and seeking an accelerated review based on an increase in dystrophin protein as a surrogate endpoint.
In other sector news:
+ Alnylam Pharmaceuticals ( ALNY ) rose Monday after the drugmaker said Sanofi's ( SNY ) Genzyme unit ( SNY ) turned down its opt-in rights to develop and commercialize its lumasiran NAi therapeutic for the treatment of primary Hyperoxaluria Type 1. Following the decision, Alnylam now plans on rapidly advance lumasiran into Phase III testing by late this year. phase 3 pivotal study in late 2018, and to commercialize lumasiran globally, assuming product approval.
- Biogen ( BIIB ) declined Monday after the biotech company acquired a prospective schizophrenia drug, PF-04958242, from Pfizer ( PFE ) for an upfront payment of $75 million plus up to $515 million more in additional development and commercialization milestone payments, as well as tiered royalties in the low to mid-teen percentages. The deal is expected to close during the second half of the year when Biogen expects to begin a Phase IIb trial of PF-04958242.
- Savara (SVRA) plunged over 14% on Monday, sinking to a session low of $9.43 a share, after the early-stage pharmaceuticals company Sunday saying its Aironite drug candidate failed to meet its primary or secondary endpoints of symptom relief during Phase II testing in patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction. "These results were obviously disappointing but we hope the study will nevertheless serve to increase the understanding of the disease mechanisms," CEO Rob Neville in prepared remarks, later adding the company's focus on treating orphan lung diseases was not affected by the stufy results.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
