Onyx Pharmaceuticals (ONXX) reported third quarter earnings of 28 cents per share, well above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 22 cents as well as 21 cents reported in the year-ago period. The company, along with Bayer AG (BAYRY.PK), developed Nexavar (sorafenib) tablets, an anticancer therapy currently approved and marketed for the treatment of liver cancer and advanced kidney cancer in the US, European Union, Japan and some other countries. Onyx’s earnings come in the form of royalty and collaboration income on Nexavar sales.  For the quarter, Onyx reported revenues of $69.1 million compared to $50.8 million for the same period in 2008 primarily due to an increase in Nexavar sales and royalty revenue and a decline in the drug’s commercial expenses. While revenues increased 36%, a 43.6% rise in operating expenses brought down Onyx’s operating margin by 450 basis points to 14.5%. R&D and SG&A expenses increased ...

Recently, Onyx Pharmaceuticals (ONXX) announced that it will purchase privately held cancer drugmaker Proteolix for an upfront cash payment of $276 million. This transaction gives Onyx access to Proteolix's lead compound, carfilzomib, a mid-stage multiple myeloma drug. Apart from the upfront cash payment, Onyx, which currently sells the liver and kidney cancer drug Nexavar along with Bayer AG, is also liable to pay $40 million in 2010 if carfilzomib achieves a development milestone and up to $535 million depending on the achievement of certain regulatory approvals for carfilzomib in the U.S. and Europe.  That is inclusive of a payment of $170 million if the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) decides to conduct a fast review of the drug. The all-cash transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year. As a reminder, carfilzomib is currently undergoing a phase II b trial (n=250) in ...

Dutch-born Marijn Dekkers tapped to take over German drug-maker Bayer in 2010

BERLIN (CRWENewswire) German chemical and pharmaceutical company Bayer AG announced Tuesday September 15, 2009 that it has tapped Marijn Dekkers to take over as its chief executive in October 2010.

Dekkers, who has both Dutch and U.S. citizenship, is currently the head of Waltham, Massachussets-based laboratory equipment maker Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. Bayer’s supervisory board appointed the 51-year-old to replace current CEO Werner Wenning on Oct. 1 next year, the company said.

Wenning, who extended his contract by eight months until the end of next September, will step down shortly before his 64th birthday. The company said Dekkers will join its management board at the beginning of 2010. It said that in a transitional phase he also will be the chief executive of its Bayer HealthCare unit — succeeding Arthur Higgins, who is leaving the company during the first half

...

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – September 1, 2009 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Bayer AG (BAYRY), Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY), Johnson and Johnson (JNJ), Sanofi-Aventis (SNY) and Pfizer (PFE).

Get the most recent insight from Zacks Equity Research with the free Profit from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=5513

Here are highlights from Monday’s Analyst Blog:

A Step Forward for Bayer

The therapeutic area of Atrial Fibrillation (AF) is buzzing with news. We are pleased with the development made by Bayer Schering Pharma, a division of Bayer AG (BAYRY) in this field. The company completed patient enrollment in the phase III study for Rivaroxaban

...

Here are the stocks added to the Zacks #1 Rank ("strong buy") List today:

AMCOL International Corp (ACO) Apollo Group Inc (APOL) Atmel Corp (ATML) Bayer AG (BAYRY) BioDelivery Sciences International Inc (BDSI) British American Tobacco (BTI) Cadbury Plc (CBY) Celanese Corp (CE) Central European Media Enterprises Ltd (CETV) CRH Plc (CRH) Diageo Plc (DEO) First Bancorp (FBNC) Flamel Technologies SA (FLML) Flanders Corp (FLDR) Grupo Televisa SA (TV) HDFC Bank Ltd (HDB) Henkel AG (HENKY) Herbalife Ltd (HLF) Jefferies Group Inc (JEF) Jones Apparel Group Inc (JNY) L'Oreal SA (LRLCY) Longtop Financial Technologies Ltd (LFT) MFA Financial Inc (MFA) MTR Gaming Group Inc (MNTG) Multi-Color Corp (LABL) National Australia Bank Ltd (NABZY) Odyssey Re Holdings Corp (ORH) Orbitz Worldwide Inc (...

Here are the stocks added to the Zacks #1 Rank ("strong buy") List today:

Air Liquide SA (AIQUY) AMB Property Corp (AMB) American Capital Agency Corp (AGNC) American Public Education Inc (APEI) Artesian Resources Corp (ARTNA) Bayer AG (BAYRY) Brigham Exploration Co (BEXP) British American Tobacco (BTI) Cadbury Plc (CBY) Capitol Federal Financial (CFFN) Cardtronics Inc (CATM) Corrections Corporation of America (CXW) DBS Group Holdings Ltd (DBSDY) Dr Reddy's Laboratories Ltd (RDY) Flamel Technologies SA (FLML) Flanders Corp (FLDR) Franklin Resources Inc (BEN) Genesco Inc (GCO) GlaxoSmithKline Plc (GSK) HDFC Bank Ltd (HDB) Hellenic Telecom Organization SA (OTE) Henkel AG & Co KGAA (HENKY) HMS Holdings Corp (HMSY) Iconix Brand Group Inc (ICON) Ingram Micro Inc (IM) IntercontinentalExchange Inc (ICE) Longtop Financial Technologies ...

Highlights include Sanofi-Aventis SA (SNY) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ).On March 18th and 19th, the FDA advisory panels recommended approval of 2 important cardiovascular product candidates. The FDA does not have to follow the recommendations of the panels but usually does.On Wednesday, the 18th of March, an FDA advisory panel recommended approval of Sanofi-Aventis' (SNY) heart drug Multaq. Multaq (dronedarone) is a new class III anti-arrhythmic drug developed for atrial fibrillation (AF).On Thursday the 19th, an FDA review panel voted 15 to 2 in favor of approving Johnson & Johnson's (JNJ) anticoagulant rivaroxaban. Rivaroxaban, which will be sold under the brand name Xarelto upon approval, will be marketed in the U.S. by J&J and is already sold partner Bayer AG outside of the U.S. Multaq was initially submitted to the FDA for approval in 2006 but the FDA responded ...

Highlighted stocks include Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (REGN), Sanofi-Aventis SA (SNY), AstraZeneca plc (AZN), Bayer AG (BAYRY) and Astellas Pharma Inc. (ALPMY).Fundamentals Remain StrongRegeneron reported 4th quarter financial results on Februay 26, 2009. Although total revenue and net loss fell short of our expectations due to fluctuations in R&D revenue quarter by quarter, Arcalyst sales in 4Q08 were in line with our estimate. The company's guidance of Arcalyst for 2009 is also in line with our expectation. Also, the company's balance sheet remains strong.Total revenues decreased to $55.8 million in the 4th quarter of 2008 from $64.7 million in the same quarter of 2007, and increased to $238.5 million for the full year 2008 from $125.0 million for the same period of 2007. The company's revenue was comprised of contract research and development revenue, technology licensing revenue, and net product sales.The Company shipped $10.7 million of Arcalyst ...

Here are the stocks added to the Zacks #1 Rank ("strong buy") List today:

Amtrust Financial Services Inc (AFSI) Antares Pharma Inc (AIS) AsiaInfo Holdings Inc (ASIA) AtriCure Inc (ATRC) Bayer AG (BAYRY) CBIZ Inc (CBZ) Command Security Corp (MOC) Continucare Corp (CNU) CSG Systems International Inc (CSGS) Daimler AG (DAI) Dolby Laboratories Inc (DLB) Elbit Systems Ltd (ESLT) Helicos BioSciences Corp (HLCS) HMS Holdings Corp (HMSY) Human Genome Sciences (HGSI) I-Many Inc (IMNY) Ikanos Communications Inc (IKAN) Immunomedics Inc (IMMU) Incyte Corp (INCY) James Hardie Industries NV (JHX) Kirkland's Inc (KIRK) Landry's Restaurants Inc (LNY) MAKO Surgical Corp (MAKO) MAP Pharmaceuticals Inc (MAPP) Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc (MTU) National Beverage Corp (FIZZ) NorthWestern Corp (NWE) Novartis AG (NVS) Novavax ...

Here are the stocks added to the Zacks #1 Rank ("strong buy") List today:

Amerisafe Inc (AMSF) Antares Pharma Inc (AIS) Bayer AG (BAYRY) Blockbuster Inc (BBI) Cadence Pharmaceuticals Inc (CADX) Carriage Services Inc (CSV) Command Security Corp (MOC) Cumulus Media Inc (CMLS) DayStar Technologies Inc (DSTI) Echostar Corp (SATS) The Ensign Group Inc (ENSG) Express Scripts Inc (ESRX) Fair Isaac Corp (FIC) Huron Consulting Group (HURN) I-Many Inc (IMNY) Idenix Pharmaceuticals Inc (IDIX) Ikanos Communications Inc (IKAN) Maxwell Technologies Inc (MXWL) MCG Capital Corp (MCGC) Momenta Pharmaceuticals Inc (MNTA) New Jersey Resources Corp (NJR) NovaMed Inc (NOVA) Radiant Logistics Inc (RLGT) Republic Airways Holdings Inc (RJET) SCANA Corp (SCG) Sutor Technology Group Ltd (SUTR) Syngenta AG (SYT) Teekay Offshore Partners LP ...