More Pain to Come from the FDA? The accompanying table (click on image to enlarge) presents an updated calendar of expected FDA decision dates. Surprisingly, the FDA issued a complete response letter to Abbott Labs (ABT) for Vicodin CR, an extended-release version of the widely used painkiller that the company expected to be approved this quarter. Three more companies face key FDA decision in the month of December for abuse-resistant forms of opiate pain drug candidates. King Pharma (KG) and Pain Therapeutics (PTIE) await a decision on Remoxy while Alpharma (ALO) has applied for approval of Embeda. Also, Alpharma has rejected an unsolicited $1.6B bid by King Pharma, which extended the date of the tender offer until 21-November.

King Pharmaceuticals, Inc.  (Public, NYSE:KG) has risen 19% so far YTD, after having a devastating year in 2997, shedding -35%. On August 19th,  King Pharma announced results Tuesday from its Phase III study of Remoxy, an investigational drug to treat chronic pain, which they said was shown to provide effective around-the-clock analgesia within a patented formulation designed to resist common methods of misuse and ...

SGX Pharma (Nasdaq: SGXP) 6-Month Chart

Shares of SGX Pharma (SGXP) soared after hours Tuesday on news of an all-cash $64 million buyout from Eli Lilly (LLY). The buyout represented a premium of more than 100% at $3 per share for SGX, which is being acquired for its drug discovery platform focused on oncology. The two companies have collaborated since 2003, and the deal is expected to close during the second half of the year.

Recently, several buyouts at 100%-plus premiums for micro-cap biotechs such as cancer drug developer Kosan Biosciences (KOSN) by Bristol-Myers (BMY) and Barrier Therapeutics by privately-held Stiefel Labs have taken place as larger pharmaceutical companies look for deals to bolster their pipeline and product portfolio. Also, shares of many small and micro-cap biotechs are trading at multi-year or all-time lows as risk-averse investors have avoided the entire group in response to bear market …