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Tuesday's Health Winners & Losers

TSC Staff

Shares of Eli Lilly(LLY Quote) were trading 2.8% higher Tuesday on news a U.S. appeals court upheld the company's patent for Zyprexa. The ruling from the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, D.C., protects the antipsychotic drug from generic-drug competition until 2011.

In other news, Lilly and Amylin Pharmaeuticals(AMLN Quote) announced after the market closed Friday, and before the extended holiday weekend, that the Food and Drug Administration approved diabetes drug Byetta for expanded use. Byetta (exenatide) injection is approved as an add-on therapy to improve blood-sugar control in people with type 2 diabetes who have not achieved adequate control on a thiazolidinedione, or TZD.

"Almost half a million people with type 2 diabetes have used Byetta to help reduce their blood sugar," said Amylin CEO Ginger Graham. "Now, even more people -- those who use another common category of oral medicines, TZDs -- have Byetta." Shares of Indianapolis-based Lilly were up 38 cents, or 0.7%, at $51.73 in recent trading Tuesday, while shares of Amylin were trading down 60 cents, or 1.6%, at $36.71.

Adventrx Pharmaceuticals(ANX Quote) shares rose Tuesday on news that the FDA had approved clinical testing of its proposed cancer drug ANX-530, deeming it to be bioequivalent to Navelbine, an existing cancer treatment approved for use in nonsmall-cell lung cancer. The San Diego small-cap expects patient recruitment for the initial study to begin in January. Shares were gaining 16 cents, or 6%, to $2.80.

Shares of Par Pharmaceutical(PRX Quote) rose 3% Tuesday on news the FDA granted final approval for for its abbreviated new drug application for ondansetron orally disintegrating tablets in 4 mg and 8 mg strengths. Ondansetron ODT is the generic version of GlaxoSmithKline's(GSK Quote) Zofran ODT, used for the prevention of nausea and vomiting associated with emetogenic cancer chemotherapy and certain radiotherapies, and after surgery.

The drug will be marketed in the U.S. by Pliva, a subsidiary of Barr Pharmaceuticals(BRL Quote). Par, which will manufacture the drug, will split sales profits from Ondansetron ODT with Barr. Shares of Par were up 40 cents, or 1.9%, at $22 in recent trading Tuesday. Barr was trading down 27 cents, or 0.5%, at $50.90.

Shares of ImmunoGen (IMGN Quote) traded 3.5% higher Tuesday on news the biopharmaceutical company extended a research deal with Sanofi-Aventis(SNY Quote). The 2003 deal, which has been extended to Aug. 31, 2008, allows Sanofi expanded access to ImmunoGen's tumor-activated prodrug technology. Cambridge, Mass-based ImmunoGen earned $500,000 with the signing of this option agreement. Shares of small-cap Immunogen were up 7 cents, or 1.4%, to $5.27 in recent trading.