Recently, Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (BMY) received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to market Abilify (aripiprazole) for the treatment of irritability in pediatric patients having autistic disorder. Abilify can be used to treat children aged 6 to 17 years for symptoms of aggression toward others, deliberate self injury, temper tantrums and quick mood swings.  Bristol-Myers and Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. jointly develop and distribute the drug in the U.S. and Europe. The FDA approval of Abilify for treating irritation in pediatric patients with autistic disorder is based on data from two eight-week late-stage studies in which Abilify significantly improved scores on the irritability subscale of the caregiver-rated Aberrant Behavior Checklist (ABC-I), compared to placebo.  The most common adverse affects were sedation, fatigue, vomiting, somnolence, tremor and pyrexia. However, the efficacy of Abilify for the maintenance treatment of irritability associated with autistic disorder was not ...

The effectiveness of Merck’s (MRK) cholesterol lowering drug Zetia has been put to question following the release of data from a clinical trial comparing Abbott’s (ABT) Niaspan (niacin extended-release tablets) plus a statin with Merck’s Zetia. Although data are not encouraging for Merck, the company expressed its confidence recently at the American Heart Association meeting.

Results from the ARBITER 6 - HALTS study showed that patients at high cardiovascular risk showed significant reduction in atherosclerosis after 8 and 14 months of therapy with Abbott's Niaspan plus a statin, the study's primary endpoint. The study met its secondary endpoint too. It was observed that treatment with Niaspan plus statin resulted in significantly fewer major adverse cardiac events (or MACE, a composite endpoint consisting of heart attack, myocardial revascularization, admission to the hospital for an acute coronary syndrome, and death from coronary heart disease), as compared to Zetia. However, the

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Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (BMY) intends to split its 83.1% holding in the Nutritional segment which operates under its subsidiary Mead Johnson and develops infant formulas such as Enfamil and other nutritional products. The move is aimed to enable the company to concentrate on its core biopharmaceutical business. The transaction is expected to be accretive to earnings beginning in 2010.  Under the terms of the deal, Bristol-Myers shareholders can exchange some, none or all of their shares of the company for shares of Mead Johnson common stock tax-free and at a discount. On completion, the exchange offer would enable Bristol-Myers to dispose of its entire holding interest in Mead Johnson.  For every $1 of Bristol-Myers stock exchanged, stockholders will get approximately $1.11 worth of Mead shares. The offer is set to expire on Dec 14, unless extended or terminated. Bristol-Myers owns 170 million shares of Mead Johnson. ...

Following the recent merger of Pfizer (PFE) and Wyeth, a U.S. court imposed a huge fine on the company’s subsidiary Pharmacia & Upjohn for fraudulent marketing of its painkiller Bextra (valdecoxib). The penalty of $1.195 billion was the largest criminal fine ever imposed in the U.S. In addition, a criminal forfeiture of $105 million was enforced on the company.   In September, Pfizer had agreed to pay an additional $1 billion along with interest to settle civil allegations related to fraudulent promotion of four drugs – Bextra, the anti-psychotic drug Geodon, the antibiotic Zyvox and the anti-epileptic drug Lyrica – as well as claims that the company paid kickbacks to physicians to prescribe these and nine other drugs.   In addition to the huge penalty, Pfizer had to agree to comply with the terms of a new and significantly expanded corporate compliance program. It seeks to ensure that ...

Novartis (NVS) is expected to launch its high blood pressure drug Valturna shortly after the recent US Food and Drug Administration approval. The drug is a single-pill combination of Diovan (valsartan), an angiotensin receptor blocker and Tekturna (aliskiren), the only approved direct renin inhibitor. We believe the approval is quite significant as Diovan, one of Novartis’ top-selling drugs with global sales of $5.7 billion in 2008, is losing patent protection in most European Union countries in 2011 and in the U.S. in 2012. Competition is likely to intensify shortly as Merck’s (MRK) Cozaar (2008 sales of $3.5 billion) will lose exclusivity in the U.S. in 2010, bringing in low-priced generics. The approval was based on a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial on 1800 patients. The trial studied the impact of valsartan (160 mg and 320 mg) and aliskiren (150 mg and 300 mg) independently as ...

Oxygen Biotherapeutics Inc. today announced that the company has submitted a patent application for a new invention that uses Oxycyte perfluorocarbon to deliver oxygen as a first aid treatment for victims of heart attack and strokes. Oxycyte is the company’s perfluorocarbon (PFC) therapeutic oxygen carrier.

The company’s invention, called Vitavent, provides an immediate supply of Oxycyte and oxygen to the victim of a heart attack or stroke until medical help is available. It may be used easily by a victim of a heart attack or stroke, who is still conscious, without the assistance of another. It also may be used by someone who cannot adequately perform CPR in order to assist someone who is unconscious.

By safely combining Oxycyte and oxygen, and administering both together with the help of a self-propelled compressor, Oxycyte is able to absorb and carry into the victim’s lung an oxygen load that is 50 times greater than

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Dr Stock Pick HOT News & Alerts!

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FREE Daily Stock Alerts From DrStockPick.com

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Monday September 21, 2009

DrStockPick.com Stock Report!

CSCO, PWRM, CVAT, CSRH, PER, ABT

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CSCO, Cisco Systems, Inc.

CSCO designs, manufactures, and sells Internet Protocol (IP)-based networking and other products to the communications and IT industry worldwide.

Pelco by Schneider Electric, and CSCO today announced a strategic technology agreement to pursue the joint development of new high-definition (HD) Internet Protocol (IP) video security cameras built upon Pelco’s award-winning Sarix(TM) technology platform. The new co-branded video security cameras will bring together Pelco’s leadership in imaging with Cisco’s IP networking expertise to deliver the next generation of high-definition IP video security cameras. These cameras

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The US Food and Drug Administration recently approved Novartis’ (NVS) Valturna for high blood pressure. The drug is a single-pill combination of Diovan (valsartan), an angiotensin receptor blocker, and Tekturna (aliskiren), the only approved direct renin inhibitor.

We believe the approval is quite significant as Diovan, one of Novartis’ top-selling drugs with global sales of $5.7 billion in 2008 is losing patent protection in most European Union countries in 2011 and in the U.S. in 2012. Competition is likely to intensify shortly as Merck’s (MRK) Cozaar (2008 sales of $3.5 billion) will lose exclusivity in the U.S. in 2010, bringing in low-priced generics.

The approval was based on a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial on 1800 patients. The trial studied the impact of valsartan (160 mg and 320 mg) and aliskiren (150 mg and 300 mg) independently as well as in a combination therapy. It was found

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We are disappointed with the failure of Osiris Therapeutics’ (OSIR) Prochymal, a drug derived from human stem cell for the treatment of graft-versus-host disease (GvHD), the most common complication of bone marrow transplants. Currently, there is no approved treatment available for this life-threatening disease.

Based on the preliminary results of two phase III trials conducted by the company, Prochymal was found to be ineffective compared to placebo. Following the setback, Osiris shares fell by 34% to $8.03, their greatest single day decline since August 2006.

In the first trial, where the drug was used along with steroids, 45% of patients responded to the combination compared to 46% who responded to steroid along with a placebo. In the second trial, when Prochymal was used on patients not benefiting from steroids, it did not show statistically significant improvement. However, the drug did have a positive impact on patients with GvHD-affected

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – September 2, 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: International Paper (IP), Mead Westvaco (MWW), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Abbott (ABT) and Medtronic (MDT).

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 Tuesday’s Analyst Blog:

PMI Shows Expansion

As recently as May, the employment reading was down at 34.3. Yes, the current reading means that we are still losing manufacturing jobs, but at a vastly slower pace than we were just a few months ago. With new orders and production leaping upwards, the first effect

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