Healthy Skepticism Library item: 9269
Warning: This library includes all items relevant to health product marketing that we are aware of regardless of quality. Often we do not agree with all or part of the contents.
Publication type: news
Kennedy VB.
Biotech, pharma gain; Wyeth rises on FDA update
MarketWatch 2007 Apr 5
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/biotech-pharma-stocks-gain-wyeth/story.aspx?guid=%7B93F48B82-F2AE-4DCB-9672-8B3B1D4A7FE8%7D&siteid=yhoo&dist=yhoo
Full text:
BOSTON (MarketWatch) — Biotech and pharmaceutical stocks gained Thursday as shares of Wyeth rose on news U.S regulators have finished the re-inspection of a Wyeth plant that had fallen out of compliance last year.
The DJ Wilshire Pharmaceutical Index climbed 0.7% to 2408.41 and the DJ Wilshire Biotechnology Index advanced 1.8% to 3129.26 during a relatively calm session for the sectors on Wall Street.
Wyeth shares were up 1% at $52.82.
The drugmaker said early Thursday that the Food and Drug Administration had completed a re-inspection of its Guayama, Puerto Rico, plant, which received a Warning Letter for non-compliance from the agency in May 2006.
Wyeth said that it will respond in writing no later than mid-April to any remaining concerns the FDA has about the plant in order to get the Warning Letter resolved.
“The conclusion of this inspection is an important step in advancing the resolution of the compliance issues raised,” says Bernard Poussot, Wyeth’s chief operating officer and vice chairman, in a statement. “The company believes we are in a position to submit adequate responses to the inspection observations.”
On the biotech side, shares of Icagen Inc. moved up 2% to $1.42. The biotech group lost over 20% of its market capitalization on Wednesday after it said it was terminating a key Phase III clinical trial for its sickle cell anemia drug senicapoc due to disappointing results.
Val Brickates Kennedy is a reporter for MarketWatch in Boston.
