Winners & Losers

Return to Article

Health Winners & Losers: Biogen Idec, Elan

Elizabeth Trotta

After a nice rise early in the day, health stocks settled back into neutral territory on Tuesday.

The Nasdaq biotechnology index landed up 0.2% while the Amex index gave up 0.2%. A few regulatory items peppered otherwise light news. Amylin (AMLN Quote) and Eli Lilly(LLY Quote) investors waited Tuesday for a 5 p.m. EDT conference call. The companies said late Monday that they would discuss a Food and Drug Administration advisory on diabetes drug Byetta.

Last week regulators warned that the drug could be linked to six cases of severe pancreatitis, two of which resulted in deaths. The FDA said it was working with the companies to add stronger warnings in the product label around the risk of necrotizing or acute hemorrhagic pancreatitis. Amylin shares were off by 53 cents, or 1.9%, at $27.24, while Lilly shares crept down 50 cents, or 1.05%, to $47.02.

Also late Monday, the FDA said it was updating the prescribing information for Biogen Idec(BIIB Quote) and Elan's(ELN Quote) Multiple Sclerosis (MS) drug Tysabri after two confirmed cases of a deadly brain infection.

Regulators said the label will now include the risk of progressive PML with Tysabri when it's used alone. PML is a known risk of Tysabri, but previous cases in patients with MS were seen in combination with other therapies that affect the immune system. Regulators said they still believe Tysabri monotherapy may have a lower risk of PML than when the drug is used with other immunomodulatory medications.

Biogen's shares were down $1.39, or 2.6%, at $52.09, while Elan gave up 17 cents, or 1.2%, to $14.08.

In other news, Novavax(NVAX Quote) said Tuesday that its experimental avian influenza vaccine produced a strong immune response in humans in a phase I/IIa study. The company said the vaccine showed strong antibody activity at three levels of dosing, with the highest dose producing the greatest effect.

Novavax said its manufacturing process makes it possible to potentially produce and distribute a vaccine matched to a pandemic strain in time to interrupt and/or halt a pandemic. The company, which is collaborating with GE Healthcare, said that because process involves recombinant technology and doesn't require a live influenza virus, a vaccine can be manufactured within 10 to 12 weeks of identification of a pandemic strain, roughly half the time required to manufacture egg-based vaccines.

Novavax shares were off by 6 cents, or 2%, at $2.91.