Medivation's Alzheimer Trial Data in Early March: Biobuzz

SAN FRANCISCO (TheStreet) -- Medivation(MDVN) and Pfizer(PFE) could release top-line results from a phase III study of their Alzheimer's disease drug Dimebon in early March, according to a story published Tuesday by Bloomberg.

Bengt Winlab, head of Alzheimer's research at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm and an investigator in the Dimebon study, said the last of 525 enrolled patients completed treatment in December, which means results could be available in early March, according to Bloomberg.

Medivation has said it expects to announce results from the phase III "CONNECTION" study in the first half of the year. The results from the Dimebon study are expected to be one of the biggest binary events in the biotech sector this year. Medivation's stock price has the potential to double or lose half its value, depending on the outcome of the study.

A detailed look at the CONNECTION study can be read here.

Xoma Sells More Stock to Raise $19 Million

Xoma(XOMA) shares fell 32% to 43 cents in early Tuesday trading after the company announced the sale of common stock and warrants to raise $19 million in net proceeds.

The offering was priced at 50 cents a unit, with each unit consisting of a single share of Xoma stock and a warrant to purchase 45% of a common share.

Xoma says it will use the money to continue development of its experimental diabetes drug XOMA 052, currently in a phase II study. With this latest financing, Xoma's long-promised plans to find a partner willing to foot development costs for XOMA 052 now seem to be pushed further onto the back burner.