Health Winners & Losers: Merck

Merck slips on news of a discontinued study.
By Elizabeth Trotta ,

Health stocks were down midweek amid disappointing study results and a downtrending broader market Wednesday.

Merck

(MRK) - Get Report

said Wednesday that it discontinued a study, dubbed Achieve, that was evaluating its MK-0524A in patients with heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia, a genetic and severe form of high cholesterol.

Merck said its decision to end the study was not related to the Food and Drug Administration's recent rejection of the drug for marketing via a not-approvable letter. A steering committee had previously put patient enrollment on hold and has now recommended discontinuation based on review of data from carotid intima-media thickness (an indication of cardiovascular risk) studies, according to the company.

Merck, which said the study was looking at the incorrect population, saw shares decline 1.5% to $39.13.

Regeneron

(REGN) - Get Report

took a hit Wednesday after the company and partner

Sanofi-Aventis

(SNY) - Get Report

announced that a midstage trial on aflibercept in ovarian cancer

didn't meet its primary endpoint

. Regeneron shares gave up $2.89, or 13.5%, to $18.58. Sanofi edged down 17 cents, or 0.5%, to $37.17.

The drug is a potential future competitor to

Genentech's

(DNA)

Avastin, but Genetech didn't fare much better on Wednesday, with shares falling 1.8% to $68.22.

Also Wednesday,

Schering-Plough

(SGP)

said it is initiating two large phase III studies of its experimental hepatitis C drug boceprevir. One study will be in previously untreated patients and the other will look at those who've tried a previous treatment unsuccessfully. The studies will be randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials looking at boceprevir with pegintron and rebetol vs. standard of care with pegintron and rebetol. They will enroll more than 1,400 patients, according to the company.

Shares edged up just 5 cents, or 0.3%, to $19.31. Meanwhile, Hepatitis C drug company

Vertex

(VRTX) - Get Report

saw shares decline $1.41, or 5.1%, to $26.07.

Meanwhile,

Gilead

(GILD) - Get Report

said Tuesday post close that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office ruled to secure one of four patents for HIV drug Viread that are up for reexamination. However, it did little for the company's shares, which ended down $1.39, or 2.6%, at $52.48.

Vertex and Gilead are components of the Amex biotechnology index, which was down 2.3% at 734.66. But it's not entirely to blame for the index's performance as every single component with the sole exception of

PDL BioPharma

(PDLI) - Get Report

(which was up 7 cents, or 0.7%) closed the day in the red.

The Nasdaq biotechnology index was also down; it gave up 2% to 787.64. Interestingly, pharmaceutical stocks -- though also down -- fared slightly better than their biotech counterparts as the Amex Pharmaceutical index was down just 0.9%.

Elsewhere, one winner. Cannacord Adams upped its rating for

Vivus

(VVUS) - Get Report

to buy from hold and hiked its price target to $10 from $5.70. Its shares were up 30 cents, or 5.9%, at $5.37.

Loading ...