Wednesday's Health Winners & Losers

Health indices held to the green midweek amid earnings from some of the bigger pharma and biotech names.

But first, in non-earnings news, Sirtris Pharmaceuticals (SIRT Quote) shares surged 82% to $22.25 Wednesday on news that Big Pharma player GlaxoSmithKline (GSK Quote) will pay $720 million to acquire the company.

Glaxo announced the deal Tuesday after the market close. On Wednesday, Glaxo released its first-quarter earnings. Hurt by generic-drug competition and injured sales of diabetes drug Avandia, Glaxo said first-quarter profit fell 10% from the year-ago quarter to 25.6 pence (51 cents) a share. Revenue increased 1.7% to 5.69 billion pounds ($11.32 billion). Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial were looking for 49 cents a share on total revenue of $11.03 billion. Shares closed up 2% at $44.61.

Schering-Plough (SGP Quote), amid its cholesterol drug debacle, also posted earnings and saw shares rise $1.02, or 6%, at $18.16. For the first quarter, Schering reported net income of $253 million, or 15 cents a share, on a GAAP basis, down from $543 million, or 36 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter.

Excluding one-time items and charges related to the acquisition of Organon BioSciences (OBS), Schering reported adjusted quarterly profit of 53 cents a share, vs. 42 cents in the 2007 period.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial had pegged 37 cents a share, on revenue of $4.52 billion.

Glaxo and Schering were among stocks propping the Amex pharmaceutical index into the green Wednesday. The index added 1.1% to 300.42.

Then biotech Genzyme (GENZ Quote), which earlier in the week reined in its full-year guidance due to a regulatory delay, also saw its shares rise after earnings. On an adjusted basis, profit increased to $260 million, or 95 cents a share, from $210 million, or 78 cents a share, in the 2007 quarter. Revenue climbed 25% to $1.1 billion, from $883.2 million in the first quarter of 2007. Wall Street analysts were looking for earnings of 93 cents a share on revenue of $1.085 billion.

Shares gained $1.98, or 2.8%, to $73.53.

Meanwhile Biogen Idec (BIIB Quote), beat on earnings and sales of its multiple sclerosis drug Avonex and MS and Crohn's disease treatment Tysabri. The company earned $163 million, or 54 cents a share, in the first quarter, vs. $132 million, or 38 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter. That includes pre-tax charges of $100 million for in-process R&D and amortization of intangibles related to prior mergers and acquisitions, among other things.

Factoring those items out, Biogen reported adjusted profit of $250 million, or 83 cents a share, vs. $202 million, or 59 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter. Revenue rose 32% to $942 million from $716 million in the year-ago quarter. Results beat the expectations of Wall Street analysts who were looking for 79 cents a share on revenue of $890 million.

But Biogen's shares edged down 11 cents, or 0.2%, to $64.51.

On Thursday look for earnings from health stocks Bristol-Myers Squibb(BMY Quote), AstraZeneca(AZN Quote), Amgen(AMGN Quote) and ImClone(IMCL Quote), among others.