Human Genome: The Night Watch

Updated with latest price quotes.

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Shares of Human Genome Sciences gained in afterhours action after a Food and Drug Administration advisory panel voted in favor of approval for Benlysta, the company's proposed lupus treatment.

The stock was last quoted at $28.42, up 9.8%, on volume of around 1.6 million, according to Nasdaq.com. Human Genome's partner on the drug, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), was also on the rise, adding 2.5% to $39.50 with more than 160,000 shares changing hands.

TheStreet biotech columnist Adam Feuerstein liveblogged the Human Genome FDA panel event all day Tuesday.

>>Human Genome FDA Panel Live Blog

Another gainer in late trades was China Digital TV Holding (STV), which leapt nearly 9% to $7.40 on volume of around 30,000 following its fiscal third-quarter report.

The Beijing-based company, which sells digital television smart cards in China, said it earned $10.1 million, or 17 cents a share, in the three months ended Sept. 30 as revenue jumped more than 10% on a sequential basis to $21.1 million. Based on a regular session close at $6.81, China Digital shares were up more than 14% so far in 2010. The company said it shipped 3.95 million smart cards in the latest quarter, up from 3.61 million cards in the second quarter, and 1.96 million in the same period a year earlier.

Meantime, shares of Avanir Pharmaceuticals (AVNR) were slipping to the downside after the company disclosed plans to sell additional common stock.

The Aliso Viejo, Calif.-based drug developer gave investors the heads-up on the offering but not much else. It didn't project how big the proposed sale might be, or when it might happen. Jefferies & Co. is acting as the sole bookrunner on the deal with four other firms, including Canaccord Genuity and Merriman Capital, acting as co-managers.

The stock was last quoted at $4.44, down 4%, on volume of more than 640,000, according to Nasdaq.com. Based on a regular session close of $4.62, the shares are up more than 150% so far in 2010, so it's not particularly surprising the company would opt to pursue a dilutive stock sale.

The bulk of the appreciation has come this month after the company announced regulatory approval of its Nuedexta capsules for the treatment of pseudobulbar affect, a neurological condition that Avanir describes as being "characterized by involuntary, sudden, and frequent episodes of laughing and/or crying."

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