Health Stocks in Motion
Serologicals
(SERO)
, a developer of consumable biological products, said its board authorized a stock repurchase program of up to 2 million of the company's common shares over the next three years ending in June 2008. As of June 9, the company had about 35 million common shares outstanding. The purchases will take place in the open market or in private transactions. The stock was up 19 cents, or 1%, to $19.85.
Progenics Pharmaceuticals
(PGNX) - Get Progenics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Report
announced the pricing of a public offering of 1.5 million common shares at $19.25 under a shelf registration. The company expects net proceeds of about $28.5 million. UBS Investment bank is acting as sole manager of the offering. Progenics intends to use the proceeds to fund clinical trials of its investigational drug methylnaltrexone (MNTX), and to fund clinical trials of other products. All of the shares in the offering are being sold by Progenics. The stock was down $1.11, or 5.42%, to $19.37.
Cephalon
(CEPH)
traded down 1.2% after it announced that it has commenced a cash tender offer for all of its outstanding 2.5% convertible subordinated notes due December 2006. The tender will expire July 11. The company said it is purchasing the notes to reduce outstanding debt and reduce interest expense. The offer will be funded from a portion of the proceeds of the company's recently completed public offering of its 2% senior subordinated convertible notes due June 2015. The stock was down 45 cents to $38.62.
Shares of biopharmaceutical company
Insmed
(INSM) - Get Insmed Incorporated Report
sank 27% after it said that the Food and Drug Administration postponed the completion of a priority review of the company's growth hormone drug SomatoKine by three months.
In late May, drugmakers
Genentech
(DNA)
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and
Tercica
(TRCA)
asked a federal court to block Insmed from bringing SomatoKine growth therapy to the market ahead of a pending patent infringement suit. Shares of Insmed were down 32 cents to 90, while Genentech was down 2 cents to $80.91, and Tervica was up 22 cents to $7.97
Other health stocks on the move were
Merck
(MRK) - Get Merck & Co., Inc. Report
down 22 cents to $31.13;
Pfizer
(PFE) - Get Pfizer Inc. Report
up 7 cents to $27.60;
Elan
(ELN)
down 20 cents to $7.17; and
Biogen Idec
(BIIB) - Get Biogen Inc. Report
down 21 cents to $34.92.
