HealthSport Inc. is the preeminent formulator and developer of edible, multi-layer film strips that deliver over-the-counter drug, nutritional and dietary supplement actives through buccal (between the cheek and gum) and sublingual absorption as well as oral ingestion. The company’s proprietary edible film strip technology has five patents pending and is believed to be superior to competitors’ film strips already on the market.

The company announced today that its strategic manufacturing partner, SMI Manufacturing, has agreed to invest $10 million into HealthSport. The investment is expected to accelerate the company’s growth and strengthen its alliances with large pharmaceutical companies to provide this breakthrough, next-generation drug delivery technology.

HealthSport will use the funds in a multitude of ways – as working capital, to provide funds for research & development, and to enhance the company’s current manufacturing plant. In exchange for the $10 million, SMI will receive a 55% stake in HealthSport.

HealthSport’s drug delivery

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Earlier this week, Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (ISIS) reported positive top-line results on its type II diabetes candidate, ISIS-113715. Results from the phase II study showed consistent and statistically significant reductions in multiple short and intermediate measures of glucose control. Besides lowering blood glucose, the candidate also caused statistically significant and clinically meaningful reductions in low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol.   Importantly, a tendency towards weight loss was observed without strict dietary control. The candidate’s safety profile was favorable with no clinically significant adverse effects being observed. Full results will be presented at an upcoming medical meeting.   ISIS-113715 is a novel insulin sensitizer that reduces the expression of protein tyrosine phosphatase-1B (PTP-1B). The candidate’s ability to normalize glucose without exacerbating hypoglycemia, and reduce LDL-C levels and weight could provide patients who are obese and at high cardiovascular risk with a new treatment option.   ISIS-113715 has been developed using ...

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT) recently announced that the company will purchase the pharmaceutical arm of Belgium’s Solvay Group for $6.5 billion. This deal expands both the company’s product range and the company’s presence in fast-growing emerging countries, helping defer the effect of patent expiries and compensate for sluggish growth in its traditional markets, such as the United States.

We also have the recent $442 million paid by Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) for 18% of Crucell ADR (NASDAQ: CRXL). This will give Johnson & Johnson the development rights on a flu vaccine designed to protect against all future strains of the virus. This deal confirms the company’s move into vaccines, alongside drugs and consumer products.

These deals are further confirmation of the consolidation trend that is occurring right now in the global pharmaceutical industry.

One major factor driving the consolidation trend is the slowdown in sales of pharmaceuticals, particularly in the United

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Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc. (WPI) agreed to buy privately held Arrow Group for $1.75 billion in a cash-and-stock offer on Wednesday that would expand its presence in more than 20 countries across the world.

Under terms of the deal, Arrow stakeholders will get $1.05 billion in cash, 16.9 million shares of Morristown, New Jersey-based Watson valued at $500 million, as well as an additional $200 million preferred shares redeemable three years after the transaction.

As patent expirations loom large for many large pharmaceutical companies, cash-rich drugmakers have been trying to bolster their pipeline through strategic acquisitions at attractive prices amid the recession. Watson said it will finance the deal with available cash and some debt.

Besides getting a larger foothold in the global market, the acquisition will also help Watson to sell a generic version of Pfizer Inc.'s (PFE) Lipitor once the blockbuster cholesterol drug

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Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc. (WPI) agreed to buy privately held Arrow Group for $1.75 billion in a cash-and-stock offer on Wednesday that would expand its presence in more than 20 countries across the world.

Under terms of the deal, Arrow stakeholders will get $1.05 billion in cash, 16.9 million shares of Morristown, New Jersey-based Watson valued at $500 million, as well as an additional $200 million preferred shares redeemable three years after the transaction.

As patent expirations loom large for many large pharmaceutical companies, cash-rich drugmakers have been trying to bolster their pipeline through strategic acquisitions at attractive prices amid the recession. Watson said it will finance the deal with available cash and some debt.

Besides getting a larger foothold in the global market, the acquisition will also help Watson to sell a generic version of Pfizer Inc.'s (PFE) Lipitor once the blockbuster cholesterol drug

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The pharmaceutical industry is entering a period of substantial change in 2009. Most of the names in the industry are facing significant patent challenges in the years to come. U.S.-based firms are facing foreign exchange headwinds, as well. Revenue growth is non-existent, and earnings growth is being driven primarily by mergers, cost-cutting and share buybacks. Knowing that investors rarely pay-up for this type of manufactured earnings growth, we struggle to see a broad-based out-performance for the large-cap pharmaceutical sector in 2009.Valuations, however, are attractive, with several of the largest players trading at PEs below 10x, including: Pfizer (PFE, 7.5x), Eli Lilly (LLY, 8.1x), Merck (MRK, 8.3x), Sanofi (SNY, 7.5x), AstraZeneca (AZN, 7.6x) and GlaxoSmithKline (gsk, 9.3x) based on our fiscal 2009 estimates. Attractive valuations, along with big dividend yields, should protect investors against significant downside risk even if the economy continues ...

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL - May 14, 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: Allegheny Energy, Inc. (AYE), Vivus, Inc. (VVUS), Georgia Gulf Corporation (GGC), Sempra Energy (SRE) and The Medicines Company (MDCO).

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 Wednesday's Analyst Blog:

Allegheny Energy Offers Stability

Allegheny Energy, Inc. (AYE) reported financial results for the 1st quarter of 2009.

Adjusted net income for the 1st quarter of 2009 decreased by $22.0 million compared with the year-ago period.

Adjusted operating revenues increased

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We view Qnexa as the leading phase III obesity candidate under development today. Vivus, Inc. (VVUS) has shown that Qnexa offers a synergistic benefit off added weight loss to patients beyond what can be achieved with phentermine or topiramate alone.Phase III data released by the company from the EQUATE program in December 2008 demonstrated the drug to be both highly efficacious and well tolerated. Patients on the full commercial dose of Qnexa lost a placebo-adjusted 16.5 lbs, or 7.5% of their body weight, after only 28 weeks of treatment. Additionally, we are less concerned with the safety, specifically the cardiovascular or psychiatric side effects, of the drug compared to recently rejected and discontinued cannabinoid type 1 receptor molecules at several large pharmaceutical companies.Our trepidation at this point stems from the lack of long-term safety data -- currently being conducted -- and a lack of ...

We are keeping our Buy rating and $22 price target on Isis Pharmaceuticals (ISIS). 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 have failed.Although still early-stage, antisense technology as a platform for developing drugs reminds us greatly of the promise of biologic drugs over a decade ago. Potential mechanisms such as siRNA, RNAi, alternate splicing and micro RNA have the potential to change how we treat disease in the years to come.Isis is pioneering the effort into antisense research. The company has already commercialized the first antisense drug in 1998 with Vitravene. Isis has several proprietary compounds in clinical development as well as partnered programs with large pharmaceutical companies such as Glaxo (GSK), Bristol-Myers (...

Obama's Healthcare Plan Is Big Bark, Small Bite by Jason Napodano, CFA

When President Obama's administration released the proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year, drug stocks quickly dropped. Fears of socialized medicine, or "Hillary-Care 2.0" turned investors away from the sector.

Was the drop warranted?

There are 6 key components to healthcare reform that could have a meaningful impact on pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies in the near future.Four of these are potentially negative, whereas the other 2 are potentially positive.

First Potential Negative: Increasing Pricing Rebates

The new proposal calls for an increase in Medicaid rebates from the current level of 15% to 21%. This equates to a 6% decrease in pricing power by all the companies in our universe into the Medicaid market. If we delve deeper into the ramification of this

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