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Health Winners & Losers: Teva

Elizabeth Trotta

Health stocks started the week on a mixed note amid a variety of clinical and regulatory news.

Acadia Pharmaceuticals (ACAD) shares tanked Monday after the company said a midstage trial for schizophrenia drug ACP-104 didn't meet its primary or secondary endpoints.

Shares were down $3.67, or 43%, at $4.82.

Faring better,Teva Pharmaceutical (TEVA) said Monday that in a phase III trial dubbed ADAGIO, its currently marketed Azilect tablets slowed the progression of Parkinson's disease. Teva said the study met all of its primary and secondary endpoints and also confirmed the safety and tolerability of the drug. The company said it will submit the results to U.S. and European regulators in an effort to get a label change to include disease modification rather than just a treatment for the symptoms of the disease.

Merrill Lynch analyst Gregg Gilbert upgraded Teva to buy and raised his price target to $54 from $50. Shares were trading up $2.14, or 5%, at $44.64.

Meanwhile, Exelixis (EXEL) said Monday that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration agreed on the special protocol assessment process of a phase III registration trial on anticancer compound XL184, and the company is planning on beginning a phase III study this summer of the compound as a potential treatment for medullary thyroid cancer. The company said it has also discussed the trial design with European regulatory agencies.

Shares edged up 20 cents, or 3.5%, to $5.85 on lighter-than-average volume.

In other regulatory news, Eli Lilly (LLY) said Monday that the FDA approved Cymbalta for Fibromyalgia. The drug is already approved in the U.S. for uses in major depressive disorder, anxiety disorder and diabetic peripheral neuropathic pain in patients 18 and older. Lilly's shares were off by 38 cents, or 0.8%, at $47.95, but Cypress Bioscience (CYPB), which is developing a similar drug called milnacipran, saw its shares rise 77 cents, or 10.2%, to $8.33. Milnacipran, which is in the same class as Cymbalta, is up for approval in October.

Elsewhere, Alkermes' (ALKS) shares were up 71 cents, or 6%, at $12.61 after the company announced that based on a payment by Eli Lilly, it's expanding its common stock repurchase program (previously authorized for $175 million) by $40 million and raising its 2009 fiscal year guidance.

The company now expects to earn between $10 million and $15 million, or 11 cents to 16 cents a share, vs. prior estimations of a loss of between $10 million and $15 million, or a loss of 11 cents to 16 cents a share. The company said to expect total revenue of $200 million to $225 million, vs. prior estimates of $175 million to $200 million.

Alkermes and Exelixis are both components of the Nasdaq biotechnology index, which was up 7.82, or 0.98%, at 803.08.