April 23, 2013
5 Small Cap Dividend Stocks in Healthcare
 Dividend-paying small-cap healthcare stocks are a rare breed, but certainly exist nonetheless. The following companies all possess market caps less than $2 billion, pay quarterly dividends, and provide services in the healthcare, biotech, or medical device industries. Like with any investment, investors should always determine their investment strategy, risk tolerance, and desired portfolio yield, when evaluating these names. Atrion Corp (ATRI) is a supplier of a wide range of medical devices. It is best known for its and fluid delivery and cardiovascular products, and supplies products primarily to niche markets. Atrion’s diverse portfolio of products ranges from soft contact lens cases to open heart surgery devices. Share Price: $195.96 Market Cap: $395.84 million Dividend: $0.56/quarter (1.14% annually) Atrion pays a solid dividend and has raised its payout every year since 2003. However, what’s potentially more attractive to investors is its (more)…
April 19, 2013
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Shares Explode on Phase 2 Cystic Fibrosis Study Results
 After wrapping Thursday down by more than 2 percent, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) rifled upward in extended trading after announcing that data from its phase II of VX-661 and ivacaftor showed a statistical improvement in lung function among patients with cystic fibrosis who have two copies of the most common mutation in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator gene. The mutation of the gene, also called F508del, leads to the body’s inability to regulate sweat, digestive fluids and mucus, among other things. On the whole, cystic fibrosis, an autosomal recessive genetic disorder, attacks the lungs, pancreas, liver and intestine of its victims. There is no known cure for the disease The study tested four dose levels of VX-661 dosed one time per day for 28 days in combination with ivacaftor dosed twice per day. Separately, the study evaluated patients treated with (more)…
April 18, 2013
UnitedHealth Group Revenues Climb in Q1, but Profits Drop 14 Percent
 UnitedHealth Group Inc. (UNH) Thursday morning reported a drop in first-quarter profits on increased medical costs and tighter government spending, although a rise in membership helped offset those factors. The largest managed-care company by revenue, UnitedHealth is the first in the industry to report earnings, perhaps setting a trend from things to come from peers like Humana (HUM) and Aetna (AET). The industry got a lift earlier this month after the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid surprised by saying it would raise its reimbursement rate by 3.3 percent in 2014 instead of cutting it. For the quarter, UnitedHealth reported an increase it revenue to $30.3 billion, compared to $27.3 billion in the first quarter of 2012. Net profit totaled $1.19 billion, or $1.16 per share, 14 percent lower than last year’s $1.39 billion, or $1.31 per share. Wall Street was (more)…
April 17, 2013
Teva Says Milprosa Vaginal Ring as Effective as Gel in Luteal Phase Support for IVF Patients
 Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (TEVA) said on Wednesday that a sub-analysis of data from its phase III clinical trial of Milprosa vaginal ring for luteal phase support in women going through in vitro fertilization, of IVF, showed Milprosa to offer comparable safety and efficacy to daily 8 percent progesterone vaginal gel. Milprosa is a once per week therapy that is designed to deliver a steady dose of micronized progesterone. The Israel-based drug maker presented the results at the 61st Annual Meeting of the Pacific Coast Reproductive Society. In many cases, the luteal phase – the second half of the menstrual cycle, or period from ovulation to menstruation – is compromised in women undergoing in vitro fertilization, making progesterone supplementation necessary. Progesterone has several functions, including building the uterine wall for egg implantation and stopping the menstrual cycle. The phase III (more)…
FDA Blacklists Generics of Crushable OxyContin
 Late Tuesday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration outlawed crushable, generic versions of the narcotic painkiller OxyContin (oxycodone hydrochloride), a drug that has been widely publicized as the posterboy for prescription drug abuse for more than a decade. Meanwhile, the regulators also approved new labeling for a reformulated OxyContin produced by privately held Purdue Pharma L.P. and introduced to the market in 2010. The new version, which is much more difficult to crush or dissolve, is far less prone to tampering. The drug became known on the streets as OC, O and hillbilly heroin. Some famous people that were either alleged to be addicted or outright said that they needed help getting off the drug included Rush Limbaugh, Courtney Love, Health Ledger and Michael Jackson. The original formulation of the drug, which abusers were known to crush and inject or (more)…
April 16, 2013
Johnson & Johnson Reports Higher Revenue in Q1 with Help from Synthes Acquisition
 Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) reported Tuesday morning that first-quarter 2013 profit slipped compared to last year, but sales rose as the world’s second biggest seller of health care products felt the impact of the acquisition of orthopedic giant Synthes, Inc., lawsuits and divesture of the DePuy trauma business. In April 2011, JNJ agreed to pay $21.3 billion to buy Synthes, the largest acquisition in its 125-year history. For the quarter, JNJ recorded sales of $17.5 billion, up by 8.5 percent from $16.14 billion in the 2012 quarter. Profit for the quarter dropped by 11 percent to $3.5 billion, or $1.22 per share, from $3.91 billion, or $1.41 per share a year earlier. Litigation expenses, costs associated with the Synthes acquisition and other one-time items resulted in about $600 million in after-tax special items. Excluding items, adjusted net earnings were $4.1 (more)…
A New Day at FDA Leads The Way For Sarepta Therapeutics
 Shareholders of Sarepta Therapeutics (SRPT) could be excused for scratching their heads yesterday after the close when the common stock of the company traded down around 10% after what seemed to be positive news emanating from the FDA. In a highly anticipated press release, Sarepta announced the results of the company’s meeting with the FDA regarding the pathway to eventual approval for eteplirsen, a novel exon-skipping drug that shows tremendous promise in treating boys suffering from Duchenne’s Muscular Dystrophy (“DMD”). In meeting minutes provided to Sarepta, the FDA made clear that the agency would consider accelerated approval (“AA”) of eteplirsen after it receives additional data summarizing the existing literature available indicating that dystrophin, a protein necessary for the healthy function of muscle tissue, is a suitable biomarker (a characteristic that is objectively measured and evaluated as an indicator of pharmacologic response) for the FDA to (more)…
April 11, 2013
ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Soars on Early Approval of Parkinson’s Treatment
 ACADIA Pharmaceuticals (ACAD) was up 55.60 percent on Thursday, with shares trading as for as much as $12.40, after Wednesday’s closing price of $7.97. ACADIA makes drugs that treat neurological and central nervous system-related disorders. Currently, the company is developing pimavanserin for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease psychosis, Alzheimer’s disease psychosis, and schizophrenia. The $934.86 million market-cap company’s performance was sparked by the announcement that its pimavanserin Parkinson’s disease psychosis treatment qualifies for the filing of a New Drug Application (NDA) without requiring the customary final-phase trial that was scheduled to commence later in the month. For as many as 40 percent of those with advanced-stage Parkinson’s disease, psychosis is a commonly experienced complication, often in the form of visual hallucinations. Furthermore, Parkinson’s-related psychosis can be induced by more or less all drugs used to treat the disease. In a (more)…
April 9, 2013
Gilead Submits NDA to Food and Drug Administration for Oral Hepatitis C Treatment
 Gilead Sciences (GILD), a forerunner in hepatitis C virus drugs, said that it has submitted a New Drug Application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration seeking approval of sofosbuvir, a once-a-day oral treatment from chronic HCV. Gilead had previously said that it intended to submit the NDA in the second quarter and delivered earlier than many expected as it looks to keep a leg up on competitors like Abbott Laboratories’ (ABT) spinout AbbVie Inc. (ABBV) and Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY), companies that are also developing all-oral hep C regimens. The NDA includes data for four successful Phase III clinical trials supporting a combination of sofosbuvir and prodrug ribavirin as an all-oral therapeutic for genotype 2 and 3 HCV patients as well as a cocktail of sofosbuvir, ribavirin and pegylated interferon for treatment-naïve genotype 1, 4, 5 and 6 HCV patients. (more)…
April 5, 2013
AstraZeneca Rheumatoid Arthritis Drug Fails to Meet Both Primary Endpoints
 AstraZeneca PLC (AZN) said on Friday that top-line results from its OSKIRA-1 Phase III testing fostamitinib for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) hit one endpoint, but failed to show a necessary improvement in modified Total Sharp Score (mTSS). The study evaluated 923 patients who had demonstrated a poor response previously to methotrexate over six months. The London-based drug maker had two primary endpoints in the trial of fostamatinib, the first oral spleen tyrosine kinase inhibitor targeting RA. The first was met as the new drug candidate achieved a statistical improvement in ACR20 response rates assessing the signs and symptoms of RA (tenderness and swelling in the joints) in both study arms that received 100 mg twice daily or escalated doses compared to the placebo group. However, the drug failed to deliver a statistically significant outcome when it came to X-ray outputs, called (more)…
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