Nutra Pharma has announced their intention to begin the registration for their over-the-counter pain reliever in both Canada and Europe. Currently, the company is marketing a similar product, Cobroxin, within the United States. Cobroxin is used for the treatment of moderate to severe (Stage 2) chronic pain.

According to the North American Chronic Pain Association of Canada, it is estimated that 18% of Canadians suffer from severe chronic pain. Additionally, the Pain in Europe report, which is the largest European survey of chronic pain sufferers, reports that chronic pain effects one in five adults across Europe.

Dr. Paul Redi, CEO of ReceptoPharm, stated, “We have already started in-depth conversations with regulatory specialists with the intent to begin the registration of our over-the-counter pain reliever in Canada and Europe. We are confident that our pain reliever can be successfully registered in the near term based on the existing regulatory requirements in those

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We are initiating coverage of Inhibitex (INHX) with a ‘Neutral’ rating and $2 price target. Our neutral rating stems from the very early-stage nature of the company’s pipeline -- leading candidate FV-100 is currently in phase II testing -- and the potential dilution risk coming from cash-raising activities later in 2009 or in 2010. Nevertheless, Inhibitex does have significant long-term upside potential based on the outcome of the ongoing phase II program for FV-100 and the movement of INH-189 into a phase I program. Data from the phase II FV-100 program is expected around the middle of 2010.  Data from a phase I proof-of-concept program on INH-189 is expected late 2010 / early 2011. Potential catalysts for the stock also include phase II or partnership news on Pharmasset’s PSI-7851 or Idenix’ IDX-184 phase II HCV phosphoramidate candidates. FV-100 a Game-Changer Inhibitex's lead development candidate, FV-100, ...

Friday, GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE:GSK) and XenoPort, Inc. (NASDAQ:XNPT) announced top-line results from a Phase II-b clinical trial. The study evaluates the safety and efficacy of GSK1838262/XP13512 (gabapentin enacarbil) for neuropathic pain, associated with post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN) in adults.

The company reported that subjects were randomized to receive placebo, 1200, 2400 or 3600 mg/day of GSK1838262 dosed twice a day; all patients treated with GSK1838262 demonstrated statistically significant improvements over the control group. The primary endpoint was the change from baseline to the end of maintenance treatment in the 24-hour average pain intensity score. The 14-week, double-blind study enrolled 376 subjects with PHN who experienced pain for at least three months following healing of the herpes zoster skin rash.

Overall, GSK1838262 was well tolerated at all doses in this study. The most common adverse events were dizziness (placebo 15%, 1200 mg/day 17%, 2400 mg/day 26% and 3600 mg/day 30%) and somnolence (8%,

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Nutra Pharma Corp.

(Public, OTC:NPHC)

Step aside Morphine, the new king of chronic pain treatment has entered the building. With Nutra Pharma’s stock rising nearly 2300% year-to-date, its time we see what all the commotion is about. StocksHaven Investments takes a closer look at Nutra Pharma Corp., which believes will begin generating significant revenues within the next 12 months. The company has recently made waves throughout the biotech space with their recent “Best New Product” award winning drug, Cobroxin. The product is the first clinically proven treatment for stage 2 (moderate to severe) chronic pain, and was awarded the honour at the Efficient Collaborative Retail Marketing (ECRM) Conference in Miami, Florida. Winning this was no easy task, as a handful of well known companies attended the conference. The

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Yesterday, Valeant Pharmaceuticals International (VRX) announced the failure of its drug candidate, retigabine, in a mid-stage study. The trial evaluated retigabine for pain associated with postherpetic neuralgia (PHN), which is common in shingles. The company’s shares closed down 8.5% at $ 24.85.

Retigabine was tested in 187 PHN patients versus placebo for a period of up to ten weeks in approximately 50 locations. The drug was administered once daily in doses of 300 mg to 900 mg. In the final week, patients rated their pain on a scale of zero to ten. While retigabine was generally well tolerated, the study failed to meet its pre-specified primary efficacy endpoint. Valeant is analyzing the data further.

Shingles is an acute infection caused by herpes zoster, the same virus that causes chickenpox. It is characterized by great pain and involves inflammation of sensory nerves. It causes numbness and itching followed by

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Today, Nutra Pharma Corp., a biotechnology company that develops treatments for AMN, HIV and Multiple Sclerosis, announced the launch of an over-the-counter pain reliever, Cobroxin, for the treatment of Stage 2 chronic pain. Cobroxin is the first clinically approved OTC pain reliever for Stage 2 pain.

The drug, developed by Nutra Pharma’s subsidiary, ReceptoPharm, will be available as an oral spray. It is designed to treat lower back pain, migraines, neck aches, shoulder pain, cramps and neuralgia. It will also be available as a topical gel for treating repetitive stress, arthritis, and joint pain.

Rik J Deitsch, Chairman and CEO of Nutra Pharma Corporation, commented, “Cobroxin is a next generation pain reliever that addresses physician and consumer demand for a safer and less costly treatment for chronic pain. Cobroxin provides affordable and accessible pain relief for those without healthcare coverage, for those looking for a safer and effective treatment for pain,

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This morning, Depomed (DEPO) announced it has signed a non-exclusive licensing agreement with Merck (MRK), whereby Merck will have access to the company's technology for extended release metformin. We expect that Merck is seeking to co-formulate Depomed's metformin XR candidate with its DPP-IV agent, Januvia (sitagliptin). Merck already sells a fixed-dose combination sitagliptin-metformin as Janumet. However, Janumet must be taken twice daily because the formulation utilizes an immediate release metformin. Despite the dosing requirement, Janumet posted sales of $155 million in the second quarter 2009. We believe that Merck will look to quickly formulate Januvia with Depomed's metformin-XR product, thus allowing for once daily dosing with an improved side effect profile and tolerability over Janumet. Merck has guided total Januvia/Janumet sales in 2009 to between $2.4 and $2.7 billion. In return, Merck paid Depomed an upfront payment of $10 million in cash. Depomed ...

We are initiating coverage of DepoMed (DEPO) with a Buy rating and $5 price target. We are excited about the potential for Serada, and enhanced formulation of gabapentin that utilizes the company's proprietary AcuForm technology, for the treatment of hot flashes / vasomotor symptoms (VMS) in menopausal women.Serada is currently in two phase III trials with data expected in the fourth quarter of 2009. Gabapentin is a molecule that has been well studied in hot flashes / VMS, and meta analysis shows it is the superior non-HRT efficacy option out there. Unfortunately, the dosing requirements and side-effect profile of the drug dramatically limits prescriptions in this market.With Serada, DepoMed is a significant opportunity in our view. We see the drug as a potential $500 million or more opportunity.DepoMed is also developing its AcuForm-enhanced gabapentin molecule for the treatment of neuropathic ...

Below are 12 extreme FDA trades for 11 companies with market caps below $200M which have pending new drug product decisions or other meetings/milestones scheduled with the FDA that are expected to have a major impact on each of the underlying stock prices as the PDUFA decision dates approach and the decision is ultimately announced. A high risk/reward trading approach to consider for speculative traders is investing a small amount of money that you can afford to lose in a basket of stocks included in extreme FDA and Clinical Trial Calendar trades, which are highlighted in periodic articles at BioMedReports.com.

Hemispherx Biopharma [HEB: 1.36, -0.10 (-6.85%)]: Ampligen (Poly I: Poly C12U) NDA (three month PDUFA decision date delay was announced on 2/18/09 as additional data was submitted by HEB within three months of original decision date). Ampligen is an experimental treatment for chronic fatigue syndrome (which has no

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL - May 11, 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: Lloyds Banking Group plc (LYG), CBS Corporation (CBS), Somaxon Pharmaceuticals (SOMX), Alexza Pharmaceuticals (ALXA) and NeurogesX, Inc. (NGSX).

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 Friday's Analyst Blog:

Lloyds Still Expects a Loss

Today in its first quarter trading update, Lloyds Banking Group plc (LYG, or Lloyds) announced that it still expects to post a loss for full-year 2009 (excluding an accounting gain from negative goodwill) on the back of

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