Biotech Sector Weekly Rewind

BOSTON (TheStreet) -- Adam Feuerstein's take on the biotech week that was Oct. 11, 2010:

Pfizer (PFE) buys King Pharmaceuticals (KG) for $3.6 billion to bolster its pain drug franchise.

Pfizer adds new partners through King Buy

Alkermes (ALKS) CEO Richard Pops (@popsalks) breaks company news on Twitter. Bravo! (via @MikeHuckman)

The news broken by Pops: Finally, a drug approval in October! Alkermes received FDA clearance to market Vivitrol as a treatment for opioid addiction.

Alexza Pharmaceuticals (ALXA) and Jazz Pharmaceuticals (JAZZ) not as lucky: FDA denies approval to both of their drugs.

Questcor Pharmaceuticals (QCOR) receives belated FDA approval for Acthar as a treatment for infantile spasms.

The week's top-performing sector stocks: Pharmathene (PIP) (+120%), Molecular Insight Pharmaceuticals (MIPI) (+65%), Rosetta Genomics (ROSG) (+60%), SIGA Technologies (SIGA) (+56%) and King Pharmaceuticals (KG) (+37%).

Johnson & Johnson's (JNJ) abiraterone boosts survival by four months for patients with advanced prostate cancer.

Seattle Genetics (SGEN) reported a second clinical trial win for the lymphoma drug brentuximab vedotin.

This week's Biotech Stock Mailbag: Exact Sciences (EXAS), Sequenom (SQNM), Vanda Pharmaceuticals (VNDA), Delcath Systems (DCTH), Labopharm (DDSS), Cadence Pharmaceuticals (CADX) and Transcept Pharmaceuticals (TSPT).

Forbes' Matt Herper on the fight against drug-resistant germs.

Cancer drug analyst and blogger Sally Church spends the week at the European cancer conference known as ESMO.

The week's worst-performing sector stocks: Alexza Pharmaceuticals (ALXA) (-56%), Spherix (SPEX) (-24%), AspenBio Pharma (APPY) (-17%), Anadys Pharmaceuticals (ANDS) (-16%) and ProPhase Labs (PRPH) (-13%).

Cubist Pharmaceuticals (CBST) reports third quarter Cubicin sales of $154 million, lower than the consensus estimate of $162 million. The company reports higher-than-expected earnings for the quarter on lower operating expenses.

The biggest (sore) losers: Arena Pharmaceuticals (ARNA) investors.

Chemist and blogger Derek Lowe takes another skeptical look at the anti-aging claims made about GlaxoSmithKline's resveratrol.

Will the withdrawal of Meridia help or hurt other weight-loss pills? (via Pharmalot)

Reuters Health editor Ivan Oransky on Geron (GERN) and its first-ever stem cell study in patients with spinal cord injury.

"Scrapers" are scouring web sites looking for patients' personal information.

Roche reports weaker-than-expected sales of its three most important drugs -- Avastin, Rituxan and Herceptin. Overall, third quarter revenue fell 7%.

ImmunoGen (IMGN) and Novartis (NVS) strike a licensing deal to develop cancer drugs based on ImmunoGen's "armed antibody" drug delivery technology.

Exelixis (EXEL) licenses two experimental cancer drugs to Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY).

Perfect FDA Drug Approval Pickers

Halozyme Therapeutics (HALO) cut 25% of its workforce in a restructuring move.

The week in financings: Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (RGEN) ($175 million), Cytori Therapeutics (CYTX) ($19 million) and Anadys Pharmaceuticals (ANDS) ($25 million).

FDA doesn't always heed the recommendations offered by its advisory panels. (via @matthewherper)

Phase III data on Titan Pharmaceuticals' (TTNP.OB) implantable addiction drug is published in JAMA.

Boehringer Ingelheim drops development of a drug for the controversial disorder known as female sexual dysfunction.

Celgene (CELG) completes acquisition of Abraxis BioScience.

--Written by Adam Feuerstein in Boston.



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