Health Stocks in Motion

Updated from 3:01 p.m. EDT

Shares of ViroPharma(VPHM) were among the best-performing health and pharmaceutical stocks Monday after Schering-Plough(SGP) said it would pay $10 million to license ViroPharma's cold drug.

Schering-Plough will develop the drug and market it in the U.S. and Canada. ViroPharma could receive as much as $65 million in additional payments if it achieves certain milestones. Previously, the two companies had only entered into an option agreement to license the drug. Shares of ViroPharma traded up 21 cents, or 10.8%, to $2.15.

StemCells(STEM) rose after it received a patent for work covering composition of matter claims for the human neural stem cell. The patent covers human neural stem cell cultures derived from any source, the company said. Beginning next year, the biotech company intends to begin the process of clinical testing in neural stem cells to treat an array of diseases of the central nervous system. Shares of StemCells traded up 12 cents, or 8.2%, to $1.58.

Shares of Discovery Partners(DPII) rose after the company received a $24 million order from the National Institute of Health. Under the multiyear contract, Discovery will set up and maintain a small molecule repository in San Francisco to manage and provide chemical compounds to NIH screening centers as part of the NIH Roadmap initiative. The contract is scheduled to run from August 2004 through December 2008. Shares traded up 14 cents, or 3.3%, to $4.44.

Pharmos(PARS) fell after it sold nearly $17 million in stock. The drug company sold about 5.58 million shares of stock for $3 apiece. The sale was part of a shelf registration that was declared effective in November 2003. Monday's transaction completes the balance of its shelf registration. The proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes. Shares of Pharmos traded down 37 cents, or 10.6%, to $3.13.

Other health care volume movers included Pfizer(PFE), down 9 cents to $31.65; Amgen(AMGN), down 15 cents to $58.05; Mylan Labs(MYL), up 27 cents to $17.16; Boston Scientific(BSX), up 68 cents to $35.20; and Johnson & Johnson(JNJ), up 1 cent to $57.05.

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