Ligand Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:LGND) has announced that they have extended their research collaboration with Pfizer for JAK3 by one year. Both the companies had entered the research and license agreement in December 2006 with Wyeth provided for the initial three years research term. Under the extended collaboration agreement, Ligand Pharmaceuticals will receive US$3.1 million in research payments to continue the drug discovery and optimization of their lead candidate. Under the original agreement, Ligand Pharmaceutical was entitled to receive up to US$175 million as milestone payments for the successful development and commercialization of multiple products.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals is one of the growing companies that is into the discovery and development of new drugs that addresses critical unmet medical needs of patients with muscle wasting, hormone related diseases, osteoporosis, anemia, asthma and rheumatoid arthritis. Ligand’s drug discovery and development programs are based on advanced cell-based assays, gene expression tools and one of

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Vimovo Demonstrates Benefit Over Naproxen Yesterday, at the American College of Gastroenterology meeting in San Diego, Pozen (POZN) released data from two phase III trials comparing Vimovo (formerly PN400) to enteric-coasted naproxen (ECN) in patients with osteoarthritis (OA), rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and ankylosing spondylitis (AS) who are at risk of developing NSAID-associated gastric ulcers. The data demonstrated that patients taking Vimovo experienced significantly greater reduction in severity of dyspepsia (SODA) and overall treatment evaluation for dyspepsia (OTE-DP) compared to patients taking ECN. The OTE-DP results showed 43-46% of the patients on Vimovo reporting positive change at month six vs. only 28-34% on ECN. The results were highly statistically significant. Plus, patients taking Vimovo also had discontinuation rates far below ECN, at 3-5% vs. 11-12%, respectively. The safety of Vimovo was also superior to ECN, with only 2% of the patients experiencing erosive duodenitis as compared to 10-14% for ...

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 ...

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Monday October 19, 2009

DrStockPick.com Stock Report!

AMGN, PWRM, JNJ, CSRH, GE, CVAT, TEVA, AQNM

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AMGN, Amgen Inc.

AMGN, a biotechnology company, engages in the discovery, development, manufacture, and marketing of human therapeutics based on advances in cellular and molecular biology.

The Food and Drug Administration wants more information about AMGN’s osteoporosis treatment Prolia before granting marketing approval. It delays a drug seen as a potential blockbuster for the company.

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PWRM, Power 3 Medical Products Inc, PWRM.OB

Power3 Medical Products, Inc. is a leading bio-medical company engaged in the commercialization of neurodegenerative disease and cancer biomarkers, pathways, and mechanisms of diseases through the development of

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Monday October 19, 2009

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PFE, PWRM, BIIB

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PWRM, Power 3 Medical Products Inc, PWRM.OB

Power3 Medical Products, Inc. is a leading bio-medical company engaged in the commercialization of neurodegenerative disease and cancer biomarkers, pathways, and mechanisms of diseases through the development of diagnostic tests and drug targets. Power3’s patent-pending technologies are being used to develop screening and diagnostic tests for the early detection and prognosis of disease, identify protein biomarkers, and drug targets. Diagnostic tests are targeted toward markets with critical unmet needs in areas including neurodegenerative disease (NuroPro) and breast cancer (BC-SeraPro). Power3 expects to complete phase

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Yesterday, Schering-Plough Corp. (SGP) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) announced the approval of their drug Simponi (golimumab) in the European Union for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and other immune system disorders. The drug was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in April 2009.   As a reminder, Schering acquired co-development rights to Simponi in the third quarter of 2005 from Johnson & Johnson’s biotech arm, Centocor Inc., which had developed and discovered the drug. Johnson & Johnson enjoys exclusive marketing rights of Simponi in the U.S., while Schering-Plough holds marketing rights outside the U.S.  excluding Japan, Indonesia and Taiwan where the drug will be co-marketed with other vendors subsequent to regulatory approvals.   Simponi, a next-generation, fully human, anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF), received European approval as a once-a-month treatment for rheumatoid arthritis (RA), psoriatic arthritis (PA) and ankylosing spondylitis (AS), which is a ...

Last week, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) lowered its 2009 revenue guidance. The company expects its net loss for the full year to increase to $650 million compared with an earlier prediction of $515 million to $550 million.  The increased losses are due to the company’s decision to retain its pipeline candidate, VX-509, for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis for phase II clinical development and an estimated $115 million incurred for restructuring, acquisition, stock-based compensation costs and a loss on exchange of convertible subordinated notes.  The phase II trial of VX-509 will be conducted over a 12-week period enrolling 200 patients with moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis. The trial is set to begin in the first quarter of 2010 with interim data being available by the middle of next year. Vertex is seeking collaborative opportunities with major pharmaceutical companies for the drug.  Vertex expects to receive $120 ...

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Wednesday September 30, 2009

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COV, PWRM, MSFT, CSRH, NKE, CVAT, ABT

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COV, Covidien plc

COV engages in the development, manufacture, and sale of healthcare products for use in clinical and home settings worldwide. The company operates through four segments: Medical Devices, Imaging Solutions, Pharmaceutical Products, and Medical Supplies.

COV said Wednesday it received Food and Drug Administration clearance for its new endotracheal tube, a device that helps patients breathe.

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PWRM, Power 3 Medical Products Inc, PWRM.OB

Power3 Medical Products, Inc. is a leading bio-medical company engaged in the commercialization of neurodegenerative disease and cancer biomarkers, pathways, and mechanisms of diseases through the

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Earlier this week, Human Genome Sciences Inc. (HGSI) announced that its eagerly anticipated lupus drug Benlysta is expected to cost patients about $20,000 a year. The actual price might also be slightly more than the figure. Consequently, the drug could reach $1 billion in annual sales if taken by 50,000 patients, which represents a small fraction of those affected by the disease. In July 2009, Human Genome Sciences and GlaxoSmithKline PLC (GSK) announced that Benlysta met the primary endpoint in BLISS-52, the first of two pivotal phase III trials in patients with serologically active systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). In the placebo-controlled BLISS-52 study, the results showed that Benlysta plus standard of care achieved a clinically and statistically significant improvement in patient response rate at Week 52 compared with standard of care alone. Study results also showed that Benlysta was generally well tolerated, with adverse ...

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Monday September 28, 2009

DrStockPick.com Stock Report!

XRX, PWRM, ABT, CSRH, CMCSA, CVAT, FMCN

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XRX, Xerox Corp.

XRX engages in the development, manufacture, marketing, servicing, and financing of document equipment, software, solutions, and services worldwide.

XRX said Monday it will buy Affiliated Computer Services Inc. for $6.4 billion in cash and stock to create a $22 billion business that combines XRX’s copiers, printers and document management services with the “business process outsourcing” of Dallas-based ACS., joining the expensive race among technology companies to broaden their offerings.

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PWRM, Power 3 Medical Products Inc, PWRM.OB

Power3 Medical Products, Inc. is a leading bio-medical company engaged in

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