ASCO: A Biotech Scorecard

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CHICAGO -- My weekend at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting was almost totally occupied by ImClone (IMCL Quote)-related work, which gave me very little time to devote to any other company news. I apologize for that, but it was impossible to find the time to really dig into other stories.

RealMoney readers can check the Columnist Conversation archives for my weekend postings. Obviously, there were non-ImClone happenings at ASCO this year (although to be honest, not much). Here are pocket sketch observations of some other possible stock-moving news:

Amgen (AMGN Quote): Denosumab looks like it will have a role in the cancer market, based on data presented this weekend. The big opportunity for the experimental drug is in osteoporosis, and that's where most investors are focused, but "D-Mab" could also be used to treat bone-related side effects of cancer treatments.

Cowen & Co., in a recent report, pegged the D-Mab cancer market opportunity at up to $1 billion, so it's not chump change, especially for Amgen which is still feeling the negative effects of decreased use of its anemia drug Aranesp.

Progenics (PGNX Quote): I swung by the Wyeth (WYE Quote) booth in the exhibitors' hall over the weekend, totally psyched to see that the real estate allotted to the marketing of the constipation drug Relistor was impressive.

The Wyeth booth is a Relistor love fest, with Relistor-related signage and marketing materials taking up about half the booth space. (Wyeth's kidney cancer drug Torisel occupies the other half.) This is all good for Progenics, and shows that Wyeth is making a big sales effort for Relistor, which will hopefully translate into a strong drug launch and royalties.