Shares of biotech Iomai(IOMI Quote - Cramer on IOMI - Stock Picks) soared nearly 25.3% to $6.39 after the company said it will receive a contract from the Department of Health and Human Services to develop a patch to improve the efficacy of small amounts of flu vaccine, to help cover more individuals in the event of a pandemic.
The company could receive research costs plus a fix fee totaling $128 million. The department has already allotted $14.5 million to cover performance under the contract through March 31, 2008, Iomai says. Shares of drug developer Xoma(XOMA Quote - Cramer on XOMA - Stock Picks) jumped 6.4% to $2.50 after the company said it's expanding its collaboration with Schering-Plough(SGP Quote - Cramer on SGP - Stock Picks) in the development of antibodies to treat cancer and immune diseases. Shares of Angiotech Pharmaceuticals(ANPI Quote - Cramer on ANPI - Stock Picks) gained 5% to $9.03 after a Dutch court ruled in favor of the company and partner Boston Scientific(BSX Quote - Cramer on BSX - Stock Picks) in a patent dispute with Conor Medsystems(CONR Quote - Cramer on CONR - Stock Picks). Shire's(SHPGY Quote - Cramer on SHPGY - Stock Picks) shares were up 1.4% to $64.45 after the pharmaceuticals company said it received regulatory approval for its ulcerative colitis drug Lialda. Shares of Neurocrine Biosciences(NBIX Quote - Cramer on NBIX - Stock Picks) gained 5% to $12.33 after the stock was upgraded to overweight from equal weight by Lehman Brothers health care analyst Jim Birchenough. Among other health stock winners Wednesday were GlaxoSmithKline(GSK Quote - Cramer on GSK - Stock Picks), up 1.3% to $55.23; Johnson & Johnson(JNJ Quote - Cramer on JNJ - Stock Picks), 1% higher to $67.22; Abbott(ABT Quote - Cramer on ABT - Stock Picks), rising 1.4% to $51.32; Wyeth(WYE Quote - Cramer on WYE - Stock Picks) up 1.4% to $51.17; Novogen(NVGN Quote - Cramer on NVGN - Stock Picks), gaining 4.5% to $12.10; and Geron(GERN Quote - Cramer on GERN - Stock Picks) growing 3.7% to $8.97.


