Savient Dips, But Analyst Expects 2010 Drug Launch

NEW YORK (AP) — Shares of drugmaker Savient Pharmaceuticals Inc. fell Thursday, but an Oppenheimer and Co. analyst said he thinks it is increasingly likely the company will be able to launch its gout drug Krystexxa late next year.

Analyst John Newman said he thinks Krystexxa, which is intended to treat chronic gout that has not responded to other drugs, could be launched in the third or fourth quarter of 2010. However he thinks the drug will carry a "black box" warning, which warns of serious side effects or death.

Newman also thinks the Food and Drug Administration will ask Savient to design a risk management strategy for Krystexxa and could require it to keep a registry of patients to track the drug's effects after approval.

The analyst believes the company will have to raise additional cash early next year, although he said it has enough funds to last through the end of 2010. He kept a "Perform" rating on Savient stock.

In afternoon trading, shares of the East Brunswick, N.J., company lost 73 cents, or 4.7 percent, to $14.69.