Dynavax Technologies Corp. (DVAX) is a biopharmaceutical company focused on drug development for the treatment and prevention of various infectious and inflammatory diseases.

The company was recently hit hard by a couple of major negative events: the clinical hold and the subsequent termination of the partnership with Merck (MRK) for Heplisav, a late stage candidate for Hepatitis B vaccine, and the discontinuation of the Tolamba program for allergy. Currently, Dynavax is in active discussions with regulatory agencies to resolve the FDA's clinical hold on Heplisav and identify an appropriate path for its further development and approval in the United States, Europe, and the rest of the world.

The deal with Glaxo is a big positive

In 4Q08, Dynavax and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) signed a worldwide strategic alliance to discover, develop and commercialize novel inhibitors of endosomal Toll-like Receptors (TLRs) for the treatment of immuno-inflammatory diseases.

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL - June 9, 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: Amylin Pharmaceuticals (AMLN), Merck (MRK), Glaxo (GSK), Bristol (BMY) and Eli Lilly (LLY).

Get the most recent insight from Zacks Equity Research with the free Profit from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=4579.

Here are highlights from Monday's Analyst Blog:

Amylin Update Post ADA Meeting

This past weekend, Amylin Pharmaceuticals (AMLN) presented several abstracts and oral presentations at the American Diabetes Association (ADA) meeting in New Orleans. At the meeting, Amylin presented long-term follow-up data from the 74-week open label portion of the DURATION-1 program that demonstrated

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Highlights include GlaxoSmithKline plc (GSK), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Novartis AG (NVS) and Pfizer, Inc. (PFE).Glaxo Buys Stiefel Labs for $3.6 BillionThis morning, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) announced it will acquire privately held Stiefel Laboratories for $2.9 billion in cash. Glaxo will also assume $400 million in debt and has agreed to pay $300 million in milestone payments depending on the performance of key assets at Stiefel, bringing the total deal size to potentially $3.6 billion.Stiefel Labs, located in Coral Cables, Florida, is the world's biggest independent dermatology company, and makes prescription and over-the-counter medications including acne treatments and other skin creams, lotions, washes and vitamins.The company had reportedly been in talks early this year to be acquired by Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) and Novartis AG (NVS). Leading products at Stiefel include Duac for acne, Olux E ...

Highlights include GlaxoSmithKline plc (GSK), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Novartis AG (NVS) and Pfizer, Inc. (PFE).Glaxo Buys Stiefel Labs for $3.6 BillionThis morning, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) announced it will acquire privately held Stiefel Laboratories for $2.9 billion in cash. Glaxo will also assume $400 million in debt and has agreed to pay $300 million in milestone payments depending on the performance of key assets at Stiefel, bringing the total deal size to potentially $3.6 billion.Stiefel Labs, located in Coral Cables, Florida, is the world's biggest independent dermatology company, and makes prescription and over-the-counter medications including acne treatments and other skin creams, lotions, washes and vitamins.The company had reportedly been in talks early this year to be acquired by Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) and Novartis AG (NVS). Leading products at Stiefel include Duac for acne, Olux E ...

* Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) reported better-than-expected first quarter results due to improved margins on cost-saving measures. Revenues, though down 3% from the previous quarter, was up 6% from a year ago, marking the firm's first-ever sequential quarterly drop caused by the recession's impact on consumers' clicking activity and advertisers' fees paid per click. The company's conference call which suggested further sensitivity to the general economy, stressing the likely impact of seasonality on second quarter returns, bothered investors

* Citigroup (NYSE:C) reported its first profit in over a year on investment banking strength, as net income rose to $1.6 billion during the first quarter. On a per share basis, however, the firm reported a loss of 18 cents, resulting from a 24 cent loss on the conversion reset of preferred shares, which was narrower than the expected 34 cent loss and the $1.03 loss a year earlier. The Company also delayed its exchange offer

* Economic bellwether

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Highlights include Isis Pharmaceutical, Inc. (ISIS) and Genzyme Corp. (GENZ).We are keeping our Buy rating and $22 price target on Isis Pharmaceuticals (ISIS). We encourage investors to pick up the shares at this level. We think commercialization of mipomersen for HoFH under an accelerated approval should come in early 2011. Mipomersen represents one of the largest potential blockbuster drugs to come to market in the next few years.Additionally, the path to market outside the U.S. may be easier than the Street anticipates. We see today's price as a significant opportunity to pick up the premier antisense development company on the market for a discounted price.We are big fans of antisense technology and believe that the number of potential therapeutic applications is enormous. Antisense drugs may have significant potential to treat a number of diseases where small molecule and biologic compounds ...

Emerging Biotech & Pharma Index: 36 More Cos. The accompanying table [click to enlarge or download] includes the 36 remaining companies in the ETF Innovators [ETFI] Emerging Bio-Pharma Index with market caps between $150M-$1.5B, which were not included in the previous two articles I wrote about the group – featuring the Top 40 Rated Companies and companies below the $150M market cap cutoff. However, several of the companies included in the remaining group of 36 have been in the news recently due to FDA related news. Late last week, Ligand Pharma (LGND) received approval along with its collaboration partner Glaxo (GSK) for Promacta while Theravance (THRX) received a positive panel review for its antibiotic telavancin. Previously, ...