Monday's Health Winners & Losers

Post-holiday updates on licensing agreements, acquisitions and clinical development weren't enough to persuade inert health indices out of the red Monday.

Nataxis Bleichroeder initiated coverage on Medivation(MDVN Quote) with a sell rating and a target price of $5. The firm said it has low confidence that Medivation's lead compound, Dimebon for Alzheimer's disease, will ever make it to market. "But even if it does, and we give the company credit for its Huntington's Disease and prostate cancer programs, our valuation analysis still suggests a $5 price target."

Shares were down $2.65, or 15.1%, at $14.95. The stock is a component of the Nasdaq biotechnology index, which was down 12.5, or 1.5%, at 816.96.

Another component of the index, Cardiome Pharma(CRME Quote), updated guidance for expected interim results from a phase IIb trial for oral vernakalant which is used to maintain normal heart rhythm following termination of atrial fibrillation. The company will now complete and disclose the interim analysis in March of 2008, rather than its prior expectation of the fourth quarter of 2007. It's forecasting that final results will be presented in mid-2008.

The company said it hopes the delay will add about 20% more patients to the interim analysis than originally planned, and more data will be available on patients with longer-term exposure. Cardoime's shares were trading down 86 cents, or 8.2%, at $9.62.